Enough To Believe
by ForForever19
Summary: Years after Shelby ups and disappears from Lima with Beth, a blonde girl shows up on Rachel and Quinn's doorstep, armed with a lot of questions, and very familiar cheekbones. Future AU in 2 Parts.
1. Feel Again

**Disclaimer**: I, by no means, claim to own anything remotely related to the Glee Universe. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Part One**

**Feel Again**

* * *

Rachel doesn't mind that Quinn very rarely mentions _them_, mainly because she doesn't either. Their lives are already so tightly entwined that it makes no actual sense to dredge up all the unpleasantness of their mutual past.

_Them_.

The unmentionables.

Beth and, invariably, Shelby are filed away so far, sometimes, that Quinn needs to be past-drunk, deeply-sad and on Beth's birthday for any feelings about the child she doesn't get to know to be revealed.

The first few years together, Rachel gave her space, but now she sits with her and they cry together. It's a joint pain now, because Quinn has become her heart, and if Quinn hurts, so does Rachel.

Still, they don't talk much about them.

True, Beth has been on the brain a little more lately, given their recent circumstances, but Quinn stays away from actually saying her name. As if putting it into the Universe hurts her in some way.

Rachel doesn't blame her, of course, but this moment almost seems inevitable. It was bound to happen at some point, which is really the only reason Rachel doesn't panic the way her head and heart are screaming for her to.

She thinks she has a right to, given the endless day in the studio she's just endured. Performing on stage is one thing, but the cast recordings are slated for rerelease when her run on the show comes to an end in two months' time, and they've been working overtime on their Dark Days to ensure it all gets done perfectly.

Rachel knows Quinn is supposed to be home early, so the two of them can actually spend the evening together, seeing as Rachel doesn't have a show, and this is why Rachel believes the Universe has made this happen on this very day.

Inevitable and all that.

Because, well, Rachel thinks she would know those cheekbones just about anywhere. She's spent years falling asleep to the sight of similar ones, their form pressed against her own warm skin.

So, when she arrives at the apartment she shares with Quinn to find a blonde girl leaning against the door, she already knows who it is.

For a terrifying moment, Rachel has the urge to turn right around and ignore everything about this current situation. Really, she probably could have gone her entire life without this particular brand of drama.

But, well, Quinn's daughter is standing at their door, and Rachel doesn't have the heart to turn her away, as much as she might want to protect herself - and Quinn. She also has no idea how this will affect her wife, given the way things were left with Shelby their senior year.

Badly.

Everything was just a mess, really.

All the work Rachel did to make sure Quinn didn't reveal Shelby and Noah's affair was all for naught in the end, because the truth ended up coming out, anyway, and the aftermath was horrific, to say the least.

Shelby lost her job, inevitably, and Rachel knows very little beyond the woman packing everything up once again and taking Beth and disappearing from all their lives, leaving them all in the dark about her whereabouts.

Quinn has never been able to forgive Noah, and Rachel tries not to think about any of it. She and Quinn have talked about it a handful of times, particularly when they're discussing their own potential children, and Rachel has always got the impression that Quinn is hesitant to _carry_ another child, even if she'll never actually admit it.

She wants them, sure - dozens, she once joked - but maybe they'll all have to come from Rachel's body.

So, suffice to say, it's a shock to see Beth Corcoran standing at their door, looking all for the world like the young woman Quinn wished for her to become. She's beautiful, a perfect blend of Quinn and Noah's best physical features. Fourteen now, and she's grown so much from the toddler Rachel sometimes remembers.

Rachel slows her steps as she approaches, wondering if she should maybe wait to make contact until Quinn gets back. She considers it for just a moment before she realises she's not about to let a teenager dictate when she goes into her own home, her wife's daughter or not.

A home she and Quinn have built for themselves over the years, filling it with love and respect and a longing for a sense of family for which both of them have been searching for quite some time.

True, Rachel has her fathers, but Shelby did quite a number on her, and her years in therapy have managed to help only so much. Somehow, she gets the feeling this impromptu arrival of Beth Corcoran is going to result in yet another unwanted meeting with Shelby.

At least, she thinks it'll be unwanted. She can never quite tell with her own self.

Rachel just about manages to keep a lid on her thoughts as she approaches Beth, coming to a stop in front of the girl standing at their door.

Rachel clears her throat. "May I help you?" she asks, her voice steady. She expects that Beth wouldn't know of her existence and, even if she did, the last thing she would expect is for her biological mother to be married to the biological daughter of her adoptive mother.

If she even knows she's adopted.

Why else would she be here, really?

What a complex disaster.

Beth seems to start at the sound of Rachel's voice, and the brunette tries not to look amused. There's something so very Quinn about the way she gathers herself and straightens, looking as composed as a fourteen-year-old can manage.

"Hi," the girl says.

Rachel gives her an expectant look.

Beth blinks. "Oh, um, do you live here?"

Well, Rachel is definitely not going to answer that question.

"It's just, you know, I'm looking for Lucy Fabray, and this is supposed to be her place, so I - " she stops. "I'm Beth Corcoran. Not some crazy stalker or anything. I just - I kind of just need to talk to her, you know? Do you know her?"

Rachel shouldn't be charmed, but she is. "I do," she eventually says. "We live together."

"Oh, cool," Beth says, nodding in understanding. "Sorry to show up just like this," she adds a moment later. She bites her bottom lip, suddenly bashful. "Did - I mean, has she, um, ever mentioned me?"

For the first time, Beth looks so, so young, and Rachel feels a flash of... protectiveness and worry that's always been reserved for her gorgeous, stunning wife.

"She has," Rachel says, her voice warm.

Beth's eyes widen in surprise, and Rachel can only wonder what truths Beth has been told about her biological mother.

"Would you like to come inside?" Rachel asks. "Maybe you can tell me what you're doing here while we wait for Quinn - she goes by Quinn, not Lucy, by the way, it's her middle name - to get home from work." There's no real question in the offer, but Rachel still wants Beth to know she has the option to decline.

Beth hesitates. "Do - do you think she'll be mad I came to see her?"

"Not at all," Rachel says, almost too easily. "I'm sure she'll be very pleased to see you."

"Really?"

"Really," Rachel confirms, fishing in her bag for her apartment keys. "Surprised, obviously, but definitely pleased." Rachel's sure Quinn will end up in tears, if she's being honest.

They might all cry, actually.

She's five seconds away from crying herself, at this point.

Rachel opens the door when Beth steps aside, and it's the first time she notices the stuffed backpack on the floor at Beth's feet.

Well.

She steps through the front door, holding it open when Beth follows. She winces slightly, unsure of the state of their place, but she's quietly relieved when she sees Quinn managed to clean up before she left.

Rachel eventually closes the door, automatically locking it the way Quinn has drilled into her over the years. They didn't always live in such a secure building, and Quinn has been very concerned about their safety from the get-go. More-so now with all the fame.

She drops her keys in the bowl they keep near the coat closet, easily slipping out of her thin jacket as she sets her bag on the table beside the door. The apartment opens right into their main living space, wide and bright and open plan enough to battle Quinn's claustrophobia.

The room, itself, is warm, with pale blues and wooden undertones. From the door, the dining room and kitchen are visible, if behind large pillars, offering Rachel a view of Quinn whenever she's cooking up a storm or typing away at the dining table when she needs a change of scenery.

This is their home. It never ever occurred to her that Beth would be standing in it.

"Make yourself comfortable," Rachel says, taking out her phone and contemplating whether it's a good idea to give Quinn a heads up about what's currently happening. "Do you want something to drink? Something to eat?"

Beth does a small turn, taking in the space with wide eyes. "Uh, do you have some juice?" she asks. "Please."

"We should," Rachel says. "Why don't you come with me to the kitchen and we'll find something?"

Beth sets her backpack beside one of the armchairs and dutifully follows as Rachel leads the way. She's trying to be calm - it's very difficult - about this entire situation, but the severity is bound to catch up to her.

Beth is here.

_Why_ is Beth here?

Rachel steps into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. She's tempted to down a shot of something just to calm herself, but she discards that thought immediately.

"Hmm," she sounds. "We have some orange juice, some sweet tea... I think that's cranberry juice, but I can't be sure how old it is. There's almond milk. This coconut/rice milk blend that Quinn loves." She lifts her head. "Unless you want tea or something. You're probably too young for coffee, right?"

Beth looks a little amused. "Um, orange juice should be fine," she says.

Rachel blushes as she goes about pouring a glass for her, watching as she slips onto one of the stools at the breakfast nook. "Can I make you a sandwich?" she asks. "I'm not much of a cook - that's really Quinn's forte - but, well, I can heat up some leftovers, too."

Beth looks a little hopeful, and Rachel can only wonder when the last time she ate was. "I - "

Rachel just smiles. "It's pasta," she says, moving back to the fridge. "Quinn makes this amazing red sauce. I'm a vegetarian, but she adds these bacon bits to her own that she seems to enjoy, if you're interested."

It turns out, well, that Beth is very interested, and Rachel can only marvel at the deeply satisfied look the teenager gets on her face when she starts to eat. It reminds her of Quinn, and she feels her heart twist unpleasantly at the fact her wife has had to miss out on all of this for so long.

Rachel makes herself a cup of chamomile tea, just to settle her nerves and give herself something to do that doesn't involve staring at Beth while she eats.

She eventually sits opposite Beth, carefully sipping her tea while she checks her phone. She has many emails about work, and texts about works and missed calls about work.

Work and more work.

She can't wait until she gets to take a break.

Two months and counting.

"Are you telling her I'm here?" Beth suddenly asks, and Rachel's gaze snaps up.

"Oh, no," Rachel says, setting her phone on the counter. "Just some work stuff."

"What do you do?" she asks, sipping her juice.

"I perform," Rachel says. "On Broadway."

Beth nods, but she doesn't look particularly impressed. It's a little refreshing, if Rachel's being honest. Though, also a little alarming, because she has an actual album out, and it seems she's not reaching Beth's demographic. She'll have to talk to her manager about it for the second album.

Rachel drinks more of her tea, staving off her desire to fidget. "You're starting high school soon, right?"

Beth nods around a mouthful of pasta. "In September."

"How are you feeling about that?"

Beth shrugs. "It's... whatever."

Rachel resists the urge to laugh. Teenagers are so... teenager-ish. Still, she has so many questions she wants to ask, but she doesn't even know where to start or if she even should without having Quinn here.

She reaches for her phone again, to check the time. From what she remembers of Quinn's summer schedule, Rachel needs Quinn to hurry up. She should be home by now. Why isn't she home yet?

When the phone starts to ring, Rachel almost jumps out of her skin. She almost expects for it to be Quinn, but it's both a relief and anxiety-inducing seeing Kurt's name instead.

"Excuse me," Rachel says to Beth, and then slides off her stool as she answers the phone with a steady, "Hey."

"Are we still on for brunch tomorrow?"

"Hello to you, too, Kurt," Rachel says, letting some of the tension bleed out of her body. "Since when are we having brunch?"

"Quinn said the two of you have something to tell us."

Rachel's eyes widen and her free hand twitches at her side, feeling the need to touch. "Oh, yes, I remember," she says. "Um, I'll probably have to get back to you to confirm. Quinn and I might have something going on."

"Oh?"

"Yip."

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Yip."

"Cryptic," he comments. "Is everything okay?"

"It is," she says. "Just, you know, have everyone on standby, will you? Especially Santana."

"Okay...?"

"Thank you, Kurt," she says.

"I haven't even done anything yet."

"Yip."

"I hate you."

"Well, I hate you, too."

"No, you don't."

"You're right," Rachel sighs. "I love you."

"That's more like it."

"Yeah, yeah," she murmurs. "I'll call you later."

"Later, Berry-Fabray."

"Later, Anderson-Hummel."

Rachel spends a moment breathing steadily once she hangs up. She knows that Quinn sometimes talks to Santana about things she can't talk to her about. Her fears about marriage and parenthood, her worries about her career and her sexuality.

Things she feels she can't bring into their marriage, caught on the fact she'll somehow taint it with the darkness she's convinced she carries within; destroy this beautiful thing for which she's worked so hard.

God, she misses Quinn so much right now.

She takes another deep breath and then returns to the kitchen, where Beth is sitting obediently, her glass, plate and cutlery dutifully washed and dried, sitting piled on the counter near the sink.

"All good?" Rachel asks, moving towards her cooling tea.

Beth nods. "I - I guess I'm sorry if I'm interrupting any plans you might have," she says. "I mean, you don't have to babysit me or anything like that, especially if you have somewhere to be."

"I don't have anywhere else to be," Rachel finds herself saying.

"But, your phone call," Beth points out. "Is - is Kurt your boyfriend?"

Rachel lets out an unstoppable, uncontrollable laugh, because she can't help it. "Oh, wow," she says around a wheeze. "No, he's not. He's definitely, definitely not." She giggles now, shaking her head. "Kurt's my best friend, and very happily married to his husband."

"Oh."

Rachel smiles softly. "I've known him since high school, actually," she explains, more comfortable with talking about herself than asking questions of Beth without her blonde wife around. "So has Quinn. We were all in show choir together."

Beth raises her eyebrows. "She can sing?"

Rachel nods. "She's occasionally sharp when she's not concentrating, but she's very good. It irritates me sometimes that she's never done anything with her Minor in Drama."

Beth perks up at that. "She studied Drama?"

"And English," Rachel says. "Postgrad in Creative Writing."

"She's a writer?"

"She's a writer," Rachel confirms.

Quinn has used a pseudonym for some of her more-popular purely fictional published works, keeping her identity as secret as she can, given her already-famous wife and her career as a literary professor.

People know, of course. Quinn is famous in the academic world, publishing as herself, but her international success as a fiction author is under the name Lucy Quinn.

Rachel clears her throat. "Well, she's a PhD graduate and lecturer at Columbia, mainly," she says, allowing her pride in her wife to seep into her voice. She can't help it. "She's stupid smart and she knows it. She can be a bit of a smug idiot when she wants to be. It's really annoying."

Beth looks riveted, really, and Rachel knows she would probably feel the same way if someone offered her pieces of Shelby. She'll never ask, of course, because she's let go of that fantasy, but she's always wanted more for Quinn, who's only ever wanted to _know_ Beth.

"I get called annoying all the time," Beth says.

"I do, too," Rachel says, rolling her eyes. "I wear it as a badge of honour these days, though. Makes life interesting."

Beth opens her mouth to respond, but they both startle at the sound of a key in the front door. Beth spins around at the same time Rachel tenses, not sure what to expect.

"Rach," Quinn's voice calls out as she tries to slip through the door, her laptop bag hanging off her one shoulder and a few packets of groceries in her left hand. "Rachel, I swear, if you're not here, I'm going to kill you."

Despite her nerves, Rachel lets out a laugh. "I'm here," she calls out.

"Come and help me," Quinn complains. "This shit is heavy. I mean, why the fuck do we need so many beans? Like, who made grains so fucking heavy?"

Rachel has to cover her mouth to stop her laughter. "Oh, my God," she whispers to Beth. "She's going to be _so_ mortified when she realises you're here."

"Rachel!"

Rachel jumps in place, and then starts moving. "Quinn, we have a visitor," she says, leaving the kitchen and hurrying to where Quinn is struggling to get through the door.

"We have a what?"

"Visitor," Rachel says, stepping up to Quinn and relieving her of some of her possessions.

"Since when?"

"Uh, since I found her waiting in front of our door."

Quinn turns to her, frowning. "That sounds ominous," she says. "Crazy fan?"

Rachel swats her arm. "She can hear you."

Quinn's frown just deepens, and Rachel watches for the moment it happens. Quinn's eyes slip past her towards the kitchen where Beth has moved into view, standing like an awkward teenager, and it's as if the great big world comes to a halt.

It's a good thing Rachel is holding Quinn's bags, because her arms suddenly go limp as her jaw slackens.

"Beth," Quinn's mouth says, but no sound actually comes out.

Rachel feels tears spring to her eyes. "It's Beth," she confirms, mainly because she thinks Quinn needs to hear it.

Quinn keeps her eyes focused on the teenager, even as her right hand reaches out to touch Rachel. The moment seems to extend for hours, but it's just a few seconds before Beth gives this awkward, little wave and says, "Hi."

It takes Quinn another few moments to move, and Rachel is the one who closes and locks the door behind her.

"Beth," Quinn says, this time audible. "You're here. I can't believe you're actually here." She blinks. "Wait. What are you doing here? Are you okay? Where's Shelby? Does she know you're here?"

Beth's features seem to darken at the mention of Shelby, and Rachel just knows they're about to be dealing with something very serious when all is said and done.

Quinn sets her laptop bag on the ground and takes steady steps towards Beth. She still doesn't look as if she believes the girl is actually standing in front of her.

"You're here," Quinn says again. "God, you're even more beautiful than I imagined." She almost reaches out to touch her, but she restrains herself. "I've - I've been looking for you, but I - I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"Again?" Beth asks. Then: "How do you even know my adoptive mother's name?"

Rachel can't see it, but she's quite certain Quinn's face crumples, because she knows her own does. It's not as if she expected Shelby to tell Beth about her or them, but the confirmation stings in a way she wasn't expecting.

Quinn steps to the right and then drops onto the couch as if her legs can no longer support her. Rachel dumps the groceries on the ground as well, and then moves to sit beside Quinn, using her body as some kind of anchor for them both.

"Hey," Rachel murmurs, running a hand over Quinn's hair. "It's... well, it's not okay, but - " she stops, unsure what to say.

Quinn glances at her. "Am I dreaming?"

"Definitely not."

"Oh."

Rachel looks at Beth, who is staring at them in confusion. "Maybe you should sit," she says, and she waits for the teenager to do just that in one of the armchairs. Then, very carefully, she asks, "What exactly has Shelby told you?"

"Nothing," Beth mutters. "That's why I'm here."

Quinn shifts in her seat. "What?"

"I didn't even know I was adopted until I found the adoption papers in her drawer in May."

Quinn tenses. "What?"

"I had to do my own research to find out anything about you, because she wouldn't tell me anything," Beth bursts out. "She's the literal worst."

Realistically, Rachel knows that can't be true, but she can't bring herself to dispute Beth's statement, which makes her horrible, she knows, but she's still Rachel and Quinn still loves her.

Nothing else matters, really.

Beth leans forward, exasperated in that way that teenagers can get. "I had to do research at the library, and then I found you and it was... insane. You were real, and I - I had to come and see you, so I did."

Quinn stares at her for a long moment. "You came to New York," she says. "By yourself."

Beth shifts uncomfortably.

"Shelby doesn't know you're here, does she?"

Beth drops her gaze to her lap where she's wringing her fingers together.

"Beth," Rachel says. "Does she not know you're here?"

Beth doesn't respond.

"Where have you even come from?" Rachel asks.

This time, Beth scoots back in her seat. "You're going to be mad," she says.

"And, why would we be that?" Quinn asks and if a bit of the HBIC slips into her tone, Rachel doesn't mention it.

"We - we live in Chicago," Beth says. "I, um, caught the bus."

Still, Quinn stares. "You caught the bus," she repeats. "From Chicago."

Beth bites her bottom lip, nodding her head.

"If you'll excuse me a moment," Quinn says, and then abruptly gets to her feet. She turns sharply, and then leaves the room down a corridor, and the last thing they hear is the slamming of a door.

Beth looks nervously at Rachel. "She's mad, isn't she?"

"Perhaps," Rachel concedes. "I think she's just experiencing after-the-fact anxiety over the fact you were on a bus, alone, all the way from Chicago, just to see her, after Shelby didn't even tell you she existed."

"I was fine," Beth says, almost petulantly.

"Which is something you can say _now_, but the idea that anything could have happened to you is sobering," Rachel says, keeping her voice steady. "Does Shelby know you're safe, at least?"

Beth blinks. "You're not going to make me tell her where I am?"

Rachel sighs. "No," she says. "Just, if Quinn is feeling even half of what Shelby must be feeling, I think she deserves to know nothing horrific has happened to you, don't you think?" she points out. "She must be going out of her mind with worry, and I'd much rather we not get arrested for kidnapping a minor, if you don't mind."

Beth's eyes widen. "Okay, yeah, I should probably text her," she says, and then gets up to retrieve her phone from her backpack. It's been off since she got onto the bus, and she just knows she's in for it when she turns it on.

She's not wrong.

It's completely flooded with texts and missed calls from her mother and her friends, all clearly trying to get a hold of her.

Well.

It's almost uncanny that the phone starts to ring right in her hand, and she sucks in a breath when the word 'Mom' pops up. She wants to ignore it, but she's suddenly angrier with Shelby than she's ever been in her entire life.

Because Quinn is real. She's real and she's beautiful, and she's thought about her and she's been looking for her. How _dare_ Shelby keep Quinn from her?

The rage is almost terrifying when she answers the phone and spits, "What!" into the phone.

Even Rachel flinches.

"Beth?" the voice in the phone says, sounding a lot in disbelief, as if she was just calling Beth's number and not expecting anything.

"Stop calling me," she says, unable to stop herself. "I'm fine."

"Sweetheart, where are you?" Shelby asks, and she sounds distraught.

"What do you care?" Beth asks, harshly.

"Beth," Shelby breathes. "Please, tell me where you are and I'll come and get you."

"Why?" she asks.

"Beth, please," she says. "This is getting ridiculous now. You can't just take off and not tell me where you're going. What if you'd been hurt?"

"I wasn't, and I'm fine, okay? I'm safe."

"Where?"

"With my real mom," Beth snaps.

Shelby sucks in a sharp breath, but all Beth feels is blind rage.

"She's been looking for me," Beth says, needing to _hurt_. "She - she's met me before, and she knows who you are, and I hate you. I hate you for lying to me, and she's been here all along, and you just kept her from me, and then you lied, and why - why would you - " she chokes on a sob, and she can't go on anymore.

Suddenly, there are arms around her, and Beth is burrowing into the embrace, her body shaking from the emotions threatening to collapse her.

"Beth? Beth, Honey, are you okay?" Shelby asks, frantic.

Beth just sobs harder, and someone takes the phone from her hand. She closes her eyes, her fists clenching around the fabric of the shirt... Quinn's wearing. She breathes in, smelling apples and cinnamon, comforted in a way she hasn't felt since she found those awful, life-changing adoption papers in her mother's home office.

"Shelby," Beth hears Rachel say. "Oh, um, yes, it's Rachel," she says, sounding very uncomfortable. "Beth's here, yes. She's safe. She's eaten and had something to drink. I suspect she'll crash at some point in the immediate future." There's a pause. "To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable giving you this address. I'm well aware she's your daughter, and neither Quinn nor I would _ever_ dream of keeping her from you. We're not monsters." There's a certain edge to her voice that makes both Beth and Quinn grow tense.

Quinn rubs circles on Beth's back, humming softly in her ear, and, yeah, Beth thinks she's definitely going to crash. Any second now.

"Look, maybe Beth just needs a few days away," Rachel is saying. "Forcing her to come back isn't going to fix anything. Hmm? Oh, yes, because you know for certain I'm not yet a mother, right? No, I know exactly what you meant, Shelby. So, maybe I'm not a mother, but I sure as hell know what it feels like to have a mother who's capable of disappointing you."

Beth feels as if she's missing something very important, but she's too exhausted to try to figure it out.

"Rach," Quinn murmurs, one of her hands reaching out for the brunette.

Rachel sighs heavily into the phone, and Beth can only wonder what's being said on the other end of the line. "We live in New York." She huffs. "Yes, _we_," she says. "Quinn and I live together."

There's something else there, Beth's sure, but Quinn is literally lulling her to sleep while she's standing, and she can't help thinking that Quinn is going to make a great mother.

"Well, be sure to get in touch when you get here," Rachel suddenly snaps into the phone. "Beth is fine. Maybe everyone needs this time to come to terms with the truth you've so conveniently kept from your daughter." Her voice sounds hard in a way Beth never suspected it ever could. "You want to talk to her?"

Beth shakes her head, burying her face even more in Quinn's chest. Even Quinn shakes her head, based on the movement Beth can feel.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now," Rachel says, back to sounding diplomatic. "I'll ask her if she's up to calling you later, but she's not up for it right now." The reprieve lasts only seconds. "Hell no," Rachel says, her voice harsh. "You don't get to talk to Quinn. Never again."

Quinn's arms tighten around Beth, and the teenager knows there's far too much history than she's prepared for. She's safe here, hidden against Quinn, and she wishes the world would just calm, just for a little while.

Rachel says a few more things, and then the call ends. Beth feels a warmth at her right side, and Quinn very carefully draws Rachel into a one-armed hug, because she's still holding onto Beth.

The three of them just stand there for a few long minutes before Quinn whispers, "I don't know about you lot but I could use a nap right about now."

Beth lets out a weak giggle, and Rachel chuckles softly.

"Come on," Quinn says. "I haven't met a problem a good nap can't fix."

"Lies," Rachel accuses, but she gets moving, and Beth is out of it just enough not to pay too much attention to the room Quinn leads her too. Rachel pulls back the covers, and then Quinn guides her into it, carefully removing her shoes.

Beth feels a gentle press of lips to her forehead, and then she slips into darkness, welcoming the peace and quiet.

* * *

Rachel wants to leave Quinn with Beth, but she just can't get a hold of her own shaking, and so Quinn follows her out of their first guest bedroom, making sure to leave the door open so Beth won't panic if she wakes in this foreign place.

She's shaking.

Trembling, really.

She just talked to Shelby.

God, she just talked to _Shelby_. That's not something she really prepared for with her therapist. It just wasn't ever in the realm of possibilities, and her breathing hasn't managed to steady since.

As soon as they're out of the room, Quinn draws her into a hug, and Rachel sinks into her wife's warmth. She imagines Quinn is going through her own litany of emotions at this point, but Rachel can't bring herself to talk about it yet.

They just stand there and hold each other for two full minutes, before Rachel shakes herself off and says, "I dumped your groceries."

"Mine?" Quinn scoffs, and, for a few minutes, they can pretend everything is okay, and that they don't have Quinn's teenage runaway daughter sleeping in their guest room. "I'm pretty sure that list was all you, baby."

Rachel sighs into her, and then steps back. "We should probably unpack them, shouldn't we?"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"We should, yeah."

Quinn kisses her forehead. "Okay, yeah, we can do that."

Rachel takes hold of her hand and leads her back to the common area. She's no longer shaking, but her head and heart are aching in ways that are foreign to her. She just needs Quinn close, and Quinn doesn't seem to want to drift too far, either.

They retrieve the groceries together, and Quinn grabs her phone from her bag to check her messages. It's easy to slip into domestic activities. They've lived together for years, and Rachel knows nearly everything there is to know about this woman.

Quinn kisses her temple, and then lets her do her thing. They move together, each one already knowing where everything goes. Rachel likes order in their rooms, and Quinn has obsessive compulsive tendencies when it comes to her kitchen.

It's really Quinn's kitchen.

"What do you want for dinner?" Quinn eventually asks, coming up behind Rachel and wrapping warm arms around her waist, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder.

"Surprise me," Rachel murmurs.

"I figure you've had enough surprises for one day," Quinn says, absently kissing her neck.

Rachel lets out a snort. "It's been a day, hasn't it?"

Quinn hums, her hands sliding over Rachel's stomach, almost caressing over the fabric of her clothing. "Not what you were expecting for today, huh?"

"Were you?"

Quinn sighs. "I'll admit I've had many, many dreams about Beth just showing up at our doorstep, but I never quite thought it would actually happen."

"Is it a dream come true?"

"I'm terrified," Quinn confesses, quiet and childlike. "What if it really is all a dream?"

Rachel pinches her arm, and Quinn squeaks in surprise.

"Jesus," Quinn says. "Baby, what _are_ you doing?"

"Showing you it's real," Rachel says, a little too innocently.

"Asshole."

Rachel spins in her arms, rises onto her toes and kisses her on the lips. Once, twice, and then says, "How about some soup?"

Quinn nods, kisses her again, and then gets to work. She's relieved to have something to do, and she very casually gets Rachel started on chopping vegetables.

"Vegetable and barley okay?" Quinn asks. "Somebody needs to use those ridiculous grains I lugged all the way from the grocery store."

"That's just downstairs," Rachel quips.

Quinn rolls her eyes. "Remind me again why we don't make better use of our PAs."

"You're too kind and you keep me in check?"

Quinn laughs softly. "Something like that, yeah."

They fall into silence, each of them working quietly. Rachel can practically feel the events of the last few hours settling like a heavy weight on her shoulders. It slows her movements considerably, and her facial expression drops to nothing.

"I love you," Quinn suddenly says, as if she can just feel it, because she's not even looking at Rachel.

Rachel glances over her shoulder at her wife. "I never thought I would ever talk to her again," she says. "In fact, I don't think I ever wanted to again, and I really don't know how to feel about it."

"I think you did well," Quinn says, her voice warm.

"She probably got the shock of her life when I got on the phone," Rachel says, almost amused. "The disbelief in her voice was obvious."

"With Beth gone, having come to me, I'm pretty sure the last thing she expected was to hear your voice, particularly in conjunction with me."

"She'd probably keel over and die if she knew we're actually married."

Quinn steps towards her, kisses her firmly, and then heads back to the stove. "Can you imagine?" she laughs. "I still don't believe it, sometimes. Berry, what were you thinking agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me?"

Rachel smiles at her. "I was thinking that I have loved you for nearly half of my life, and I was probably stuck feeling that way, so I may as well make it official."

"Wow," Quinn says. "What a ringing endorsement."

Rachel abandons her chopping board and closes the space between them, needing to be close to her. "I love you," she says. "Like, I love you in the way that's gross. I mean, I literally want to have your babies, Quinn. I think that pretty much seals it."

Quinn just smiles, her arms winding around Rachel's waist. "You're stuck with me."

"Oh, the horrors."

Quinn kisses her softly. "Are you okay?"

"Not right now," Rachel confesses. "But, I think I will be." She pauses. "After I have some of your soup, of course."

"I should get back to that," she says.

Rachel kisses the corner of her mouth. "You do that."

"Get me those veggies then, Berry."

Rachel just smiles at her, and then moves back to her assigned job. They fall into silence again, coming together at times, and just trying to establish some kind of normalcy when the next few hours and days are going to be anything but.

* * *

It's how Beth finds them, nearly fifty minutes later. Rachel is setting the kitchen table while Quinn tastes the soup, checking the seasoning.

Their silence is oddly comforting, and Beth kind of hovers out of sight as she watches them.

"Lara thinks the show has at least another year," Rachel says. "Possibly more."

"How are you feeling about that, by the way?" Quinn asks. "I can't imagine the show going on without you at the helm."

"It'll be weird," Rachel says. "I think I'll steer clear of Broadway for the next two years or something."

Quinn grins at her. "My my, what ever shall you do in that time?"

Rachel laughs. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

Quinn rolls her eyes, and Beth thinks she looks so young like this. Young and untouched and happy, with a twinge of sadness just hovering behind her eyes. Beth thinks she's stunning.

So is Rachel, really. There's something familiar about the brunette in a way that just escapes Beth, but she can't quite focus on that.

"Is it ready?" Rachel asks. "I'm starving."

Quinn hums. "Have you made the toast?"

"Do I have to?"

"I'm not putting bread on the grill, Rachel," Quinn says. "I'm the one who has to do the dishes."

"But, you do it because you love me."

"Not so much right now," Quinn quips. "Make the toast."

"So demanding."

"Make the damn toast."

Rachel sticks out her tongue at her, and Beth can't help her own chuckle, which draws their collective attention. Rachel's smile flickers, and Quinn's features soften.

"Beth," Quinn says, looking a little surprised at the fact she gets to say her name out loud. "Tell Rachel we need toast."

Beth feels a smile spread across her face. "I don't mind doing the dishes," she says.

Rachel laughs as Quinn groans.

"Already ganging up on me, huh?" Quinn says. "I see how it is."

Rachel waves Beth further into the kitchen space. "Did you sleep okay?" she asks. "That bed's not the comfiest, but the other guest room is filled with Quinn's art things she's never got around to unpacking in her office."

"Hush, you," Quinn says over her shoulder.

"We've lived here for almost four years already," Rachel tells Beth. "She hasn't used any of it, but she still won't get rid of it."

"I can still hear you talking about it," Quinn says, and Beth can't help her smile.

Beth moves closer. "So, you've lived together for four years?"

Rachel blinks. "Officially, yes," she says; "but Quinn pretty much moved into my place a few years before that, even if she kept up the pretence she was still living with Santana, even after she and Britt got married."

Quinn groans. "They could have moved," she complains.

Rachel shakes her head, and then says, "Denial is like her forte."

Quinn gasps. "Rachel Berry, how dare you?"

Beth suspects there's an inside joke there, but she's not going to ask. It's really quite lovely to see them together, even though she's still confused as to why her thirty year old biological mother still lives with a roommate.

At least, that's what she thinks they are.

The various pictures she's seen around the place consist of mainly the two of them. There are other people, as well, most of them young and paired up, and Beth can only wonder who they are and what is all means.

She has questions. She wants to know everything.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Rachel offers. "Do you want more juice?"

Beth smiles, almost embarrassed. "Um, can I actually try some of that coconut/rice milk thing you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes, please," Quinn whoops. "You're going to love it," she tells Beth, before turning to Rachel and saying, "Some for me too, please."

Beth takes a seat while Quinn and Rachel move around the kitchen, looking like a well-oiled machine. She's torn between observing in silence and learning more about them. Or just Quinn.

She just wants to know.

And, before her brain can stop her, she asks, "Did you not want me?"

Both women freeze, and Beth regrets her question immediately. She wants to take it back, but her mouth won't comply. It's something she's wondered ever since she found the adoption papers.

She needs to know.

Quinn doesn't say anything as she forces herself to finish up with their bread, and then she dishes three bowls of soup that make Beth's mouth water. She didn't even realise how hungry she was until the bowl is placed in front of her.

It's only once they're seated - Quinn says Grace - and they've managed to eat a considerable amount of food in silence that Quinn addresses Beth's question.

"Of course, I wanted you," she says.

Beth holds her breath.

"You're a smart girl, so you have to know you weren't planned," Quinn says, which is a kind way of calling her a mistake. "It was, well, it was a trying time in my life, which will never be an excuse, but perhaps an explanation." She glances at Rachel, who smiles in reassurance.

Beth wonders how much of it all Rachel was there for.

Quinn clears her throat. "I was fifteen when I found out about you," she says. "I don't know how much Shelby has told you."

"Nothing," Beth immediately says, sounding bitter. "Let's just go with that."

Quinn nods. "Okay, well, I was young, and your biological father, well, he wasn't exactly my boyfriend at the time." She winces, her cheeks flushing. "It was bad, to say the least. I came from a very religious family, and teenage pregnancies are not things to be tolerated."

Rachel's fists clench on the table.

"When my parents found out, they kicked me out, and I went to stay with my boyfriend at the time, whose best friend was actually the father," Quinn says, almost conversationally.

Beth gasps.

"When the truth came out, it was even worse," Quinn says, and she tries to smile at Rachel, but it comes out a little pained.

Rachel says nothing, but her fists tighten that bit more.

"Even if I wanted to keep you, there was no way for me to be able to," Quinn says. "A teenager, still in school, homeless and family-less, I could never do that to you. I would never forgive myself for bringing you into something like that, and I won't and haven't ever regretted trying to give you a better life."

"The day you were born was a very stressful day," Quinn says, smiling a little sadly, as if she can't decide if it's a good or a bad memory. "Thank you for that, by the way."

Beth would smile if she weren't already so emotional.

"Shelby was there," Quinn says. "She was the director of one of our rival show choirs." She glances at Rachel again, as if prompting her to continue.

"I'm the one who informed her you were being born," Rachel says. "We talked about it, I guess, and I remember her mentioning how much she wanted to start a family of her own. She wanted a child to love and cherish, and I suppose she came to the conclusion that she could give that love to you."

Beth almost scoffs.

"Shelby was safe," Quinn says. "We sort of knew her, and she had to be kind." She winces. "I mean, of what I knew of her at the time, of course. It was just more comforting to know you were with someone I'd actually met rather than a complete stranger. Does that make sense?"

Beth nods, just once.

"Afterwards was difficult," Quinn says. "I still don't think I've ever fully recovered from it." She licks her lips. "It was a closed adoption, in the sense that Shelby had no obligation to allow me in your life in any way, but she told me she wouldn't keep me from you once the papers were signed."

Rachel tightens her jaw, and there's definitely a story there.

"I suppose I made the mistake of believing her," Quinn murmurs. "In the beginning, I'll admit that I didn't want to see you."

Beth flinches at that, but Quinn powers on.

"I wasn't ready, I don't think," she says. "It was too hard, and then Shelby moved with you, and things kind of, definitely, fell apart for me."

Rachel makes a sound for the first time, and it's a snort of laughter. "Don't you undersell it," she says. "Beth, she dyed her hair pink and got a Ryan Seacrest tattoo on her ass."

"It was on my lower back," Quinn immediately argues, and then rolls her eyes. "We're not debating this again." She looks at Beth. "The tattoo's gone, by the way."

"She has others now," Rachel says, winking at Beth.

Quinn shakes her head, flushing slightly. "Anyway, in the middle of my crazy, Shelby came back, with you, and she told me I had to get my life back together if I wanted to see you or be any part of your life." Her brow furrows. "Which, wow, that was a total dick move."

"Quinn," Rachel says, a little sharply.

Quinn sighs. "Well, anyway, I don't think I really pulled myself together in the sense she wanted, but I've always been good at pretending."

"You pretended to hate me for years," Rachel says; "there you go underselling yourself again."

Beth's eyebrows rise. "You hated each other?"

"Never," Quinn says. "I was just too emotionally crippled and a downright coward to admit I've been in love with her since forever."

"_What_?"

Quinn flinches at the volume of Beth's question. She blinks once, twice, and then her eyes widen in realisation. "Oh."

Beth stares between them, her heart beating way too fast as she searches their fingers for non-existent wedding bands.

Quinn looks at Rachel. "You didn't tell her?"

Rachel tries to look innocent. "I was waiting for you."

"Rachel."

"She thought Kurt was my boyfriend," Rachel says. "I'm sorry if I don't know how to segue way into telling her I'm actually married to you."

"You're married?" Beth asks, her voice pitched high.

Quinn gives her look. "Going on four years, yes," she says, her tone steady. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"Of course not," Beth hurries to say. "Just... surprised me, I guess. I thought you were roommates."

"Well, technically - " Rachel starts.

"Rachel."

The brunette blushes, and then clears her throat. "We're married, yes," she confirms. "August twenty-four is our anniversary."

It's just around the corner.

"Why don't you wear wedding rings?" Beth asks, very curious.

They both look down at their hands, as if they're just remembering their rings are missing.

"Oh, we're getting them all polished for our anniversary," Rachel explains. "Weird, isn't it? I completely forgot."

Beth just nods.

"Anyway," Quinn says. "I guess a bad situation just became worse, as far as our whole relationship with Shelby went, and then she left again, and I haven't seen or heard from either of you until today."

Beth really doesn't know what to feel about what she's just been told. She wanted to know things, obviously, but she can't shake the feeling Quinn and Rachel are leaving some pretty big chunks out of the story.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Beth sits straighter. "Why did you have a falling out, I guess?"

Quinn breathes out. "I suppose you want truths here, so I'm going to be honest with you, okay?"

"It's all I want."

Quinn drops her gaze. "I tried to prove Shelby was a bad mother, so she would be deemed unfit, and you would be returned to me."

Beth's mouth drops open.

Quinn continues. "Puck stopped me, of course, and I had to re-evaluate my entire life, _again_. Rachel helped, too, like she always has, and I had to take a good hard look at what I was willing to do to make myself feel better, which is never the hallmark of what makes a good mother."

Wow, okay, so _not_ what Beth expected to hear.

"You wanted me?" Beth asks, her voice barely a whisper.

"Selfishly, yes," Quinn says, and she looks slightly embarrassed. "But, I wasn't ready for parenthood at sixteen, and I sure as hell wasn't when I was eighteen, either."

"But, you wanted me," Beth says.

Quinn frowns. "Of course," she says. Then: "Wait, Beth, did Shelby tell you I never wanted you?"

Beth feels tears spring to her eyes, which is just so embarrassing.

"Oh, Sweetheart," Quinn says, and her hand reaches out to cover one of Beth's. "I'm sorry you ever had to believe that. I've never not wanted you. I just - I was never good for you, and I've always wanted better for you. Someone to feed and clothe you; love you and make sure you were happy."

And, the funny thing is that Beth was all those things.

Before her fourteenth birthday, she didn't care about anything but her perfect life. She barely even wondered if there was something missing, because she had no frame of reference to think there even could be.

But, now she has this entire biological mother with all this history, and she no longer has to suffer through that niggling feeling of being unwanted.

Quinn wanted her.

So did Shelby.

Beth is _wanted_.

"Who's Puck?"

Beth realises, as she says the words, that it's the wrong thing to ask. Quinn's entire demeanour closes off, and Rachel immediately reaches for her, a hand on the back of her neck and another on her forearm.

Beth waits.

Quinn doesn't speak again, and Rachel is the one to say, "Your biological father."

Beth gets that he has to exist, but she's never really given him a lot of thought.

"Noah Puckerman," Rachel clarifies. "There's... a lot of bad blood there."

Beth thinks that might be an understatement, based on Quinn's reaction. She's actually gone pale, and Beth wishes she could take the question back.

Quinn is less talkative after that, just picking at her food, and Rachel asks Beth questions about school and her friends. She answers them as best she can, but she doesn't really want to be talking about herself.

Once dinner is finished, Quinn excuses herself and disappears into what Beth assumes is their bedroom, leaving her with Rachel to do the dishes.

"Sorry," Rachel says quietly, setting their bowls in the left sink. "Maybe she'll tell you the story one day, but I don't think today is that day."

Beth nods. "I didn't mean to upset her."

"She knows," Rachel says; "and you couldn't have known."

Beth licks her lips. "Can you - do you - " she stops, huffs out a breath, but can't seem to figure out how to phrase her question.

Rachel smiles, soft and sympathetic. "As far as I'm aware, he's in the Air Force," she says. "Unmarried, with no children."

"Oh."

"I haven't stayed in touch, for obvious reasons," she says. "But, remember Kurt? Well, his stepbrother is Noah's best friend, and that's where I get all my information."

Beth nods, trying to follow. "His best friend," she says. "As in, Quinn's ex-boyfriend."

And, Beth honestly doesn't expect Rachel to blush as hard as she does. It practically takes over her face.

"What?" Beth asks.

"He's also mine," she says.

It takes a moment, and then Beth actually giggles. "Wow," she says. "There _must_ be a story there."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "There is," she agrees; "but you're far too young to hear it." She pauses. "Though, perhaps it'll help you to learn from our mistakes." She shakes her head. "No, but then, where's the fun in high school without fumbling about like a lost wannabe-adult?"

"That sounds horrible."

"Otherwise synonymous with high school."

Beth actually shudders.

Rachel waves her over. "Come dry these dishes," she says. "If I recall correctly, you said you'd do them."

"I'm a wonderful guest."

"I might even let you pick which movie we're going to watch."

Beth giggles. "Your kindness is astounding."

"So I've been told," she says. "Those words are going on my tombstone, definitely."

Beth just shakes her head, because Rachel is so weird, and she loves it. She's happy and bubbly and self-deprecating, and she has these eyes that shine with love and affection. She's kind of beautiful, really.

"Hey."

Rachel glances over her shoulder where Quinn has appeared, having changed her clothes. She's wearing sweatpants, a Yale sweatshirt, thick socks and a pair of glasses on her face. Her hair is in a messy bun, and she suddenly looks so young.

"I can finish up here if you two want to get into your pyjamas," Quinn says.

Rachel nods, immediately abandoning her task. "Come on, Beth, let's get comfortable before Quinn starts the movie without us."

"I wouldn't," Quinn says.

"You have before," Rachel accuses, and then squeals when Quinn suddenly lunges for her, wrapping an arm around her waist and planting a loud, sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Gross," Rachel says, voicing Beth's thoughts.

Quinn just squeezes her once, and then releases her. "Go," she says, and then Rachel bounces out of the kitchen. Quinn looks at Beth. "Do you have pyjamas with you?"

Beth nods.

"Would you like a shower, maybe?"

"Do I smell?"

Quinn grins. "I wasn't actually going to say anything, but you have been on a bus for God knows how many hours, so..."

Beth rolls her eyes, but steps towards Quinn, planning on squeezing past her. She barely manages it before Quinn is touching her, a soft hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she says.

"Me too," Beth returns, almost automatically.

"We can talk more later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Shout if you need anything."

Beth nods, and then heads into the living room to retrieve her backpack. It's stuffed with the essentials she'll need, but she still registers relief that Rachel has left a towel for her on the bed she slept in earlier, coupled with a little note to find her if Beth needs anything.

Beth is warmed by it all, and she can't help wondering what it would be like to live here for real. With a sigh, she carefully unpacks what she needs, and then takes everything to the bathroom with her.

The shower is glorious, and she's able to wash off all the grime of public transport. She washes her hair with fancy products and emerges feeling and looking squeaky clean.

She gets dressed in the bathroom, and then goes back to the bedroom to deposit her things. She bites her lip in contemplation before she actually does go looking for Rachel, hearing her singing to herself from behind a slightly-ajar door that must be their bedroom.

Tentatively, Beth knocks on it, and Rachel immediately appears, a wide smile on her face.

"Well, look at you," she says. "Feeling better?"

"Much."

Rachel's smile grows. "Do you want to come in?" she asks, already turning away. "I'm just dealing with this pesky makeup. It's a nightmare to remove sometimes."

"I'm not really allowed to wear makeup, unless it's some kind of special occasion," Beth confesses as she follows.

"Smart choice," Rachel says, as she moves to sit at her vanity. "Once you begin, the pressure really starts."

"High school, huh?"

"The worst."

Beth stands awkwardly, taking in the room. It's tidy but very lived in. The bed is made, clothes put away and there are books and paper booklets on nearly all the furniture. It's a dark room, in the sense that the furniture is dark wood and the duvet set is black and white. The walls are a soft beige, which somehow makes the room heavier, in some way.

Beth catches sight of a few picture frames on the dresser, and she itches to move closer. So, she does. There are four pictures. One is of Quinn and Rachel on what must be their wedding day, both of them in gorgeous white dresses and wearing the biggest smiles imaginable.

The second picture is of the two of them with four other people all their own age. She recognises a few from the other pictures, and she knows she's going to have to ask about them at some point.

The third picture is of Quinn, Rachel and a pair of older men, each flanking the girls and smiling in a way that makes Beth wish she'd been there with them that day, just to experience that happiness they're projecting.

The fourth picture is, well, it's of Quinn. A young Quinn, sweaty and flushed, with a small bundle of baby in her arms.

Oh.

"I wasn't at the hospital when that picture was taken," Rachel suddenly says, looking over Beth's shoulder. "It was the day of our Regionals competition our sophomore year, and I opted to stay to hear the results while nearly everyone else went to the hospital with her."

Beth can't even look away from the picture. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel admits. "Guilt, maybe. I didn't want to get in the way. A little heartbreak, who knows? It was a very emotional day for us all."

"Did you eventually go, though?"

"After, yes," she says. "I saw you all wrapped up in the nursery. I think I spent an hour just standing there and looking at you through the glass, just so amazed that this tiny human being was made by Quinn. Looking at you right now still baffles me. Life, it's such a funny thing."

"Because babies grow?"

"It goes on, yeah," Rachel murmurs. "I hope you know the decision to let you go has never been easy for her," she says. "It's weighed on her for years, and it's got worse the years she hasn't known where to find you. Keeping living her life and trying to find a purpose and happiness in everyday things isn't easy for her. She's been through a lot, and I used to use you to keep her safe and present."

"Me?"

"I used to ask her what you would think if, one day, you showed up in our lives and saw her; saw what she was doing and how she was living? What would you think of her then?" Rachel hums. "You're very powerful, Beth. You've always been. Please, please be careful with how you use it."

Truthfully, Beth isn't sure how she feels about that particular confession. Objectively, she can see how that must be the case, but it makes her a little uncomfortable.

"Can I ask about how the two of you got together?" Beth asks.

Rachel smiles, a little knowing. "I think Quinn might like to tell you some of that story," she says.

Beth nods, and then asks, "Do you have a hairdryer I could use in the meantime?"

* * *

Quinn ends up picking _Aladdin_. It's the live action version, with Naomi Scott and Will Smith, and Quinn admits to having a bit of a crush on Naomi Scott when she was younger.

"Do crushes just go away when you get married?" Beth asks, being a bit of a little shit.

Quinn rolls her eyes, huffing. "I think they stop being crushes," she says. "Now, I guess I have an appreciation for other women, but the only one I have a crush on goes to sleep in my bed, so I can't quite complain."

Beth turns her body to face Quinn, ignoring the movie playing. They're all on the main couch together, Quinn sitting between Beth and Rachel, and the brunette is tucked into Quinn's side, her focus intent on the television screen.

"You said you weren't always friendly," Beth says, wanting to know more.

Quinn winces. "That's - that's definitely one way to put it." She shifts slightly. "I was a bully, Beth. Like, the worst kind, and I was awful to Rachel for some really long years."

Beth blinks. "Oh."

"There are reasons I've explored in therapy, but they're not important." She turns to press a kiss to the top of Rachel's head, and Rachel just hums in content. "When I fell pregnant with you, things changed. _I_ changed. So, I suppose I have you to thank for reminding me I didn't have to cause pain to distract from my own."

Beth notes yet another allusion to the fact Quinn had a less than ideal childhood.

"We didn't really become friends until senior year," Quinn says. "Even then, it was tentative, but we tried. We were burned by common people, and she's the truest, purest person I've ever known."

Beth can definitely believe that.

"In college, well, I think we both went a little off script," Quinn says, chuckling slightly. "This one thought she had to change to fit in, and she got involved with her TA who was involved with their lecturer, _and_ she was fending off an ex-boyfriend."

Rachel lifts her head. "And this one here got involved with a professor, and figured out she actually likes boobs."

Beth giggles.

Quinn shakes her head. "Like I said: off script." She smiles at Beth. "We visited each other a few times that first year. I was in New Haven and she was here, so it wasn't too far, which was nice. We spent parts of the summer back in Ohio building a friendship we never got the chance to before."

"She came out to me over Thanksgiving our sophomore year," Rachel says. "She was such a basket of nerves, as if I would think anything ill of her."

"It was doubly scary because, with the whole I-like-girls revelation came the very prominent I-like-Rachel one, as well," Quinn explains.

"Which didn't even get revealed until I freaked out about Quinn dating this really horrid girl from her Discussion group," Rachel says.

Quinn rolls her eyes. "She wasn't terrible," she says. "Rachel just blew it way out of proportion, which is kind of how she ended up telling me I deserved someone kind and respectful, who would understand me and treat me the right way and blah blah blah."

Rachel giggles. "It was in our junior year, during Winter Break in Lima, and we were having this ridiculous fight about Steph, and Quinn ended up screaming in my face, 'What? Someone like you?' and I said yes, and we've pretty much been together ever since."

Beth can't hold back her face-splitting grin.

"I moved to New York after graduation," Quinn says. "We didn't want to rush anything, so I moved into a place with Santana, our friend from high school. It was mainly because Santana's then girlfriend, now wife, still had a year left at Harvard before she moved to join her, but it all kind of worked itself out."

"She pretends she lived with Santana, but she really didn't," Rachel says. "I'd been living with Kurt for so long, but he got married and moved into a place with his husband, Blaine, while they both finished off at NYADA."

"NYADA?" Beth asks.

"The performing arts school we all went to," Rachel explains. "Expect for this kid over here. She's an Ivy League brat."

Quinn blushes.

"Still is," Rachel adds a beat later. "Santana started at NYU a year after high school graduation, floating around as she tried to figure out her life, and then went on to become a lawyer at Columbia Law. She's an ADA now."

"ADA?" Beth asks.

"Baby, ease up on all the abbreviations," Quinn says, shaking her head.

Rachel smiles. "Assistant District Attorney," she clarifies for Beth's benefit. "A prosecutor. Very important."

"She likes to think so," Quinn quips.

Rachel laughs softly. "Her wife, Brittany, works at Columbia with Quinn, in the Math Department, and she teaches dance classes in the evening."

"She puts us all to shame," Quinn says, fondly shaking her head.

Rachel nods in agreement. "Kurt performs when the roles are right, but he's more involved in fashion and costume design these days. Blaine is on Broadway permanently, and he's killing it."

"He's almost as good as you are," Quinn says, and receives a kiss to her cheek for her troubles.

Rachel looks at Beth. "We have other friends, obviously, but those four are the most important," she says. "Our little New York family."

Beth takes it all in. "And, they all know I exist?"

Quinn nods. "I think Blaine's the only one who's never actually _seen_ you," she says. "Britt's held you, from my recollection. Santana might have, as well, from her Troubletones days."

Rachel groans.

Quinn rests her cheek on her head for a moment, but she makes no move to explain any of it to Beth. Instead, she continues on about their relationship timeline. "We got engaged about two years after I moved here, another two years to plan the perfect wedding, apparently, and then we moved into this place as soon as the honeymoon was over."

"We wanted to start our new married life in a place that was officially ours," Rachel says. "It was symbolic more than anything."

"It's also smack-damn in the middle of our respective workplaces."

"Baby, Columbia is practically on Broadway."

Quinn laughs. "I chose wisely, didn't I?"

Beth thinks she could listen to them talk for forever, which is really the moment they fall silent. Beth watches them for a few moments, the way they kind of just gaze at each other with all the affection in the world, before she reluctantly returns her attention to the movie.

They watch until the end, Rachel quietly singing along to the songs and Quinn's eyes bright in slight wonder.

Beth never wants to leave.

* * *

_t.b.c._


	2. Hey Child

**Part Two**

**Hey Child**

* * *

It's during the credits that Quinn speaks, saying words that set Beth on edge.

"Sweetheart, I think you should call your mom," Quinn says, sounding entirely too calm.

"What?" Beth asks, her eyes wide. "Why?"

"I'm certain she's worried about you."

"So?" Beth says. "I - I thought you hated her."

Quinn sighs. "I'll admit that I'm not particularly fond of Shelby for a litany of reasons, but I could never hate her. How could I, really, when I take one look at you and see how she's taken such good care of you? It's obvious to my eyes, and I'll always be thankful for at least that."

"But, she kept me from you," Beth argues. "She lied to me. She said you didn't want me; that you just abandoned me."

Quinn breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Beth," she says, sounding tired. "Come here."

Beth practically falls into Quinn's open arms, settling into her inviting warmth.

"She loves you."

"You don't know that," Beth immediately counters.

"Can you honestly say you think she doesn't love you?" Quinn asks. "Has she ever physically hurt you?"

"What? Of course not."

"Has she ever starved you or locked you in a dark room?"

Beth feels something awful twist in her gut. "Of course not."

"Has she ever left you alone at home for weeks?"

"Definitely not."

"Does she yell at you for things that are out of your control?"

"Sometimes," Beth says stubbornly.

"Do you think you could ever make a mistake and she'll kick you out for it?"

"No."

"Do you think she would hate you for being gay?"

Beth shakes her head. "Never."

Quinn rests her cheek on Beth's head. "You are luckier than most," she says. "My therapist says it's not healthy to compare life's trials, but all I know is that my childhood is nothing I ever wanted for you."

Beth's head snaps up, her eyes wide. "Your... your childhood?"

Quinn's smile is sad. "I've wanted better for you, and you have that with Shelby. You have every right to be mad and ask your questions, but she's still your mother, and I know for a fact she must be worried out of her mind."

Beth sighs, burrowing into Quinn's chest that bit more.

"I definitely get it, though," Quinn says. "Rachel has to pester me about calling my mom as well."

Rachel chuckles softly. "I swear I speak to Judy more than Quinn does."

Beth feels a smile threatening. "What about your mom?" she asks Rachel.

Rachel's smile disappears, sucked into some vacuum, and Beth didn't even know Rachel could look so empty. "I don't have a mother," she says. "I was adopted by my two fathers when I was a baby."

"You were adopted?" Beth asks, her eyes wide with sudden excitement, and she pushes on Quinn's thighs to sit upright. "Whoa."

Rachel nods. "Obviously, I've known I was since I was much younger than you are," she says. "It's just been me and my dads. I didn't need anyone else, I suppose, and I'm fine with that."

Quinn reaches out to squeeze her hand, and Beth wonders what else there is to that story. "And, where exactly do I fit into this little story, excuse me?" she asks, teasingly.

Rachel shifts to kiss her cheek. "You're all the family I need," she says, and Quinn smiles dopily in response.

Something dark twists in Beth's gut, but she does what she can to ignore it, schooling her features in time to look normal when Quinn looks at her again.

"Maybe a text, then," she offers. "Just some form of communication. Try to imagine what it must be like knowing the most important person in your life is somewhere in a foreign city, and you have no idea where she is."

"If I was so important to her, why would she lie to me?"

Quinn licks her lips. "Unfortunately, I can't answer that for you," she says. "You're going to have to get that answer from Shelby, and the only way to do that is to talk to her."

"I don't want to," Beth says stubbornly. "I don't want anything to do with her. She's not even my real mom."

Quinn looks pained. "Sweetheart, please don't say that."

"But, it's true," she argues. "You said you want me, right? Why can't I just stay here with you?"

Quinn's eyes widen. "Beth, Honey, that - that's not how this works."

"I don't care!" She's up on her feet now, pacing and raging, and Quinn slowly gets to her own feet as well. "She - she kept me from you; why are you defending her?" she accuses.

"Beth," Quinn says. "I couldn't bear the thought that I made some kind of mistake when it comes to you, so I can't and won't ever think I did. Do you understand? I _can't_. Shelby loves you. She cares about you in a way that other girls have only dreamed of."

"But, you don't know that," Beth bursts out. "She lied to me! She told me you were nothing; teenage nobodies who had no business having children, and that I should just give up on trying to find you because you were probably dead in some ditch somewhere."

Quinn sucks in a surprised breath, and Rachel makes a pained sound that resembles a sob.

Quinn's voice is barely a whisper when she asks, "She really said that?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" Beth asks, ceasing her pacing. "Why do you think I would get on a stupid bus to come all the way here looking for you?"

"Curiosity," Quinn says, almost to herself. Then, huffing out a breath, she says, "Well... fuck."

"Quinn," Rachel admonishes.

Despite themselves; despite the tension in the atmosphere, all three of them end up bursting out laughing. Beth practically doubles over, and Quinn drops back onto the couch.

Seriously, how is this her life?

When the laughter eventually dies down, Quinn wipes at her eyes and gently pats the couch beside her. "Come sit with me for a moment."

Beth goes, willingly and without hesitation.

Quinn is the one who hesitates before putting an arm around her small shoulders, but she does it, and Beth leans into her side, seeking some form of comfort. "You're mad, I know, and you have every right to be. Goodness knows I wanted to run away from home far too many times. I just never really had anywhere to go."

"I have you," Beth interjects.

Quinn releases a shaky breath. "And, you always will," she says. "But, legally, I am not your mother. You understand that, right?"

Beth looks at her, eyes imploring. "But, what if I want you to be?"

Quinn takes a deep breath. "Beth, I don't mean to patronise you, but are you sure you've thought this through?" she asks, and her voice is steady.

Beth appreciates the fact she's talking to her as if she's an adult, even if the question is a little condescending.

"I only ask because this seems as if it's a... reaction, and not a response," Quinn continues. "A little impulsive."

"I've wanted to find you since I found out you exist," Beth defends. "I just didn't have the means until now. She wouldn't tell me anything, and I had to get my friend Kyle to to do his creepy computer thing to get me your address."

Quinn holds her tighter. "That's a little terrifying," she murmurs.

"He is, yeah," Beth says. "He once changed one of his grades to a B, just to win a bet with our other friend, Carson."

Quinn shakes her head. "I don't think you should be willingly giving out that information."

"Oh. Right."

Quinn sighs. "It sounds like you have some important people in your life," she says. "I'm sure you have an entire life in Chicago, with your mom and your school and your friends."

Beth shakes her head. "I don't mind moving," she says.

"Sweetheart, please."

"Do - do you not want me?" she suddenly asks, and she hates how her voice cracks.

Quinn sighs again. "This has never been about what I do or don't want," she says. "It's about what's best for you, and that's not me."

"Are you saying you're not ready to be a mother yet?"

Quinn hesitates. "To you, yes," she finally says. "I don't know how to be a mother to you, and I wouldn't feel right taking you from your home. I signed away my rights to you and, if Shelby were so inclined, she could raise police hell about the fact you're here with us."

"She wouldn't."

"Why do you say that?"

"I would hate her forever," Beth says. "God, I would never forgive her."

Quinn very carefully runs a hand over Beth's hair. "Now that you're here, in my life, I won't just let you disappear from it again," she says. "Maybe we can't be in each other's lives the way we want, but I think we'll be able to figure something out. Ultimately, it'll be your mom's decision. Do you understand that?"

Numbly, Beth nods.

"So, we should probably call her," Quinn says. "I suspect she's already on her way to New York, so maybe we can make a plan to meet up tomorrow, and then we can discuss some kind of..." she trails off, unsure what to call it.

"Agreement," Beth offers.

Quinn nods. "First, it has to be something you're comfortable with," she says. "Something Shelby is comfortable with. Something my wife is comfortable with, as well."

Beth nods, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She just showed up at Quinn's home and asked to live with her for forever. "And you," she suddenly says.

"What?"

Beth bumps her head against Quinn's chin. "You also have to be comfortable with it."

"Right."

Beth can tell Quinn never once considered herself in the equation, which is both endearing and heartbreaking. She suddenly gets it, what Rachel was talking about. She has so much power here, and she's just now realising it.

With a sigh, she gets to her feet and goes to retrieve her phone from the room she's commandeered as her own, and then turns it on. She's, once again, bombarded by the number of missed calls and voicemails, and she feels oddly overwhelmed.

Beth moves to sit beside Quinn again, just needing her presence. "What should I tell her?"

"Well, I think the essential things are that you're okay, and that we should probably meet up somewhere to talk," Quinn says.

Beth sighs. "You're going to give me back to her."

Quinn touches her cheek with gentle fingers. "Sweetheart, you're not mine," she says, and it sounds as if it hurts her to say the words.

"I'm Shelby's," Beth says.

"No," Quinn says. "The only person you belong to is yourself."

"Do you belong to yourself?" Beth asks.

"Once upon a time, when I figured how to, yes," she says. "But, now, I so willingly belong to Rachel. I wouldn't even want to belong to myself anymore."

Beth shakes her head. "I think I'll find that sentiment cuter when I'm older."

"Probably," Quinn quietly agrees.

Beth takes a deep breath, and then dials her mother. It's unsurprising that she answers within seconds.

"Beth?" Her voice is sharp, worried in a way Beth's never heard it.

"Hi, Mom," she says, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Honey, where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Beth says. "I'm in Manhattan, with Quinn and Rachel. They're really nice, Mom."

Shelby is quiet for a moment. "I suppose they are."

Beth breathes out. "Where are you?" she asks.

"In New York," Shelby immediately says. "Just getting to a hotel now."

"Can we meet tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"It's kind of late, don't you think?"

Shelby sighs. "You're safe, right? They've fed you and you're warm?"

"Of course," Beth says, trying not to sound as irritated by the questions as she is. Quinn and Rachel have been nothing but kind to her, even after she just barged into their lives and commandeered their space.

"Okay, then, tomorrow sounds good," Shelby says, and her reluctance is evident. "Do you know where?"

"I'm not sure, no," she says. "I'll text you in the morning, with a time and a place."

"Okay."

"Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Beth, I love you."

Beth hangs up without saying another word, and she's unsure what to feel about the entire exchange.

"You okay?" Quinn asks, her voice soft.

"I don't know," Beth confesses.

Quinn wraps her in another hug, and the three of them just sit for a while. Eventually, Beth lets out a yawn, and they all chuckle.

"I think it's time for the teenage runaway to get some sleep," Quinn says, shifting in place. "Come on, we'll tuck you in."

The entire thing is so strange and novel, and Beth soaks up every second of it. Rachel sends her to brush her teeth and floss, while Quinn turns down the bed neatly and switches the overhead light for the lampshade on the nightstand. They each hug her, which is just amazing, and then Beth crawls into bed.

Quinn sits with her for a while, just musing about the fact Rachel used to sing her to sleep on the nights her past would threaten to overwhelm all the progress she made. She admits it with a blush, but Beth thinks it's lovely Quinn's managed to find someone like Rachel.

"You should get some sleep, okay?" Quinn murmurs, and then presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. "We're just down the hall if you need us."

Beth watches her go, still in a state of disbelief that any of this is even happening. She should be exhausted, but she's suddenly too wired. She just knows she's probably not going to be able to get to sleep now that she's in bed. She was sleepy earlier, warm against Quinn, but now she's wide awake.

It takes her fifteen minutes to decide to get out of bed and leave the room. Her footsteps are quiet as she makes her way back to the living room, thinking she can just grab her phone and then mess around on it until sleep claims her.

But, she hears voices before she can move into view, and she freezes.

"Gimme, gimme." That's Rachel, sounding a bit whiny.

"Say please," Quinn taunts, and Beth finds herself smiling. She moves to the left and sinks onto the top of the few steps that lead into the common area. She's hidden from view here, behind a large pillar, and she just wants to hear them. Experience the comfort of them.

"_Please_," Rachel eventually says.

"Please don't play the Broadway playlist," Quinn says. "We need something mellow."

"What about the bedtime one?"

"Sounds good."

There's a beat of silence, and then soft music begins to play. Beth doesn't recognise the song, but she gets why it would be on a playlist entitled 'Bedtime.'

"Hi, baby," Quinn says after a moment, and then says, "And, hi, baby," again, only her tone is softer, lighter.

Beth isn't one for jealousy, but there's a part of her that hates that Quinn has managed to build this life that doesn't include her.

"Hi," Rachel murmurs, and Beth can imagine them curled up together on the couch. Doing this thing that they do every night, cuddling together and just being so happy in love.

"I didn't ask about your day," Quinn says, her voice a little muffled. "How was the studio?"

"Good," Rachel replies. "Harry and I are almost done on _Lover_, and then I have a solo day next week to work on _Let's Get Personal_."

Quinn hums. "That's my favourite one."

"Of course it is."

"It practically oozes sex," Quinn says. "I'm sure, if we could make a baby, we would have the first night I saw you perform it."

Rachel laughs, and Beth can't decide if she's grossed out or if she finds the entire thing stupidly cute.

"Just saying," Quinn says.

"How was your day?" Rachel asks. "Did Lindsay give you a hard time about your chapter edits?"

"Not really," Quinn says. "They were only a few days late, but they're thorough. If I keep going at this pace, the book should be out by the end of the year, and the book tour over long before the sixteenth of January."

Rachel squeals. "Baby."

"Baby," Quinn returns. "I can't wait."

There's a long moment of silence, and Beth risks peeking her head around the column to see what they're doing, and she's unsurprised to see them kissing softly. She probably stares for longer than strictly necessary, but she can't help it.

Quinn is her mother, and she's happily married to another woman. She doesn't have much of a reference for this kind of thing, and it's oddly fascinating.

"How are you feeling?" Quinn asks eventually. "About seeing Shelby again?"

Beth holds her breath.

"It's just a thing," Rachel says. "It's necessary. This is about you and Beth, anyhow. It has nothing to do with me."

Quinn sighs. "I love you."

"I know," Rachel whispers. "I love you, too."

They must kiss again, because the next silence drags on for even longer.

"I know you said you wouldn't give her our address, but I think the series of conversations that are bound to happen will require some form of privacy," Quinn says. "I can't think of anywhere else we would be afforded that without paying a fortune or risking some kind of paparazzi that isn't here."

"Fuck."

Quinn giggles.

Rachel groans. "I guess we can inform her of the plans in the morning," she says, but she doesn't sound too happy about it. "How do you think she'll feel knowing we're married?"

"I don't really give a shit how she feels about it," Quinn says, almost darkly, and Beth feels a shiver shoot down and then back up her spine. "I stopped caring about what she thought a long time ago."

Rachel sighs. "I don't think I've ever been able to shake it."

"It's okay," Quinn assures her. "Believe me, I get that."

"You do, don't you?"

"We're like seriously screwed up, Rachel."

Rachel laughs breathily. "And, yet, you still married me."

"I think you're the more selfless one here," Quinn jokes. "I had to jump at the opportunity to marry the first idiot crazy enough to say yes to me."

"You're the worst."

"I love you."

And, yip, they're definitely kissing again. It's gross this time, but Beth feels as if she's learned a few things, even if she's not sure exactly what. She lets out a yawn again and, this time, she thinks she'll actually be able to get to sleep.

Beth risks one more look at them, her heart melting at the way they're holding onto each other, and then she very quietly pads her way back to her bedroom.

Sleep comes easily.

* * *

Quinn wakes first.

Of course she does. Sleep wasn't the best, but she manages to get a few hours. Still, she eventually comes to, and her head and heart already know the day is going to be emotionally draining.

With a sigh, she kisses Rachel's sleeping frown, and then quietly slips out of bed. She visits the bathroom for all the necessities, and then goes to the guest bedroom. It still baffles her that Beth is actually here.

She's right here, asleep like the little hurricane Quinn always imagined she would be. The blankets are bunched up all around her, from what Quinn can see, her right leg sticking out and hanging off the edge of the bed. Quinn can't imagine it being comfortable, but Beth looks peaceful enough.

Quinn stands in the doorway just watching her for an entirely too long time, but she can't help it. Beth. Her daughter. She's literally right there, and Quinn would stare at her for forever if it wouldn't be deemed creepy.

Eventually, she shakes herself out of her creepiness and heads to the kitchen. She doesn't know what time they're going to meet Shelby, but she wants to have at least eaten before that happens. Pancakes sound like a good idea. Quinn almost kicks herself for not asking Beth what her favourite food for breakfast is.

Well.

She'll just make Rachel's then.

It's how Rachel finds her, easily flipping blueberry pancakes and humming along to the music playing from their sound system. She's still half-asleep, of course, but she still smiles at Quinn, her fingers still rubbing her eyes of sleep.

"There you are," Quinn suddenly says, and her smile is blinding. "Did you sleep okay?"

Rachel nods as she steps into the kitchen, her hands reaching for Quinn's hips. Quinn just chuckles as she shifts the pancake she's just finished onto a stack on a plate.

"Good morning," Rachel murmurs into Quinn's chest once she has her arms around the blonde's waist.

"Hello, you," Quinn says; "and you."

Rachel kisses her collarbone, and then her neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Quinn says. "I made your favourite."

"I could smell it in my dreams."

Quinn kisses the top of her head. "Go get dressed. They should be ready by the time you're done."

"Should I wake Beth?"

"Could you?"

"Sure."

Quinn gets back to work once she's gone, finishing up the batter and then setting the kitchen table. She gets out the maple syrup, whipped cream and toasted nuts for texture.

She's just about finished when Rachel re-emerges with Beth in tow, and she gets her second hug of the morning. Her heart feels just about ready to explode with how full it is, and she's worried she's going to embarrass herself.

Before they eat, Quinn has Beth send a text to Shelby with their address and a time set for eleven-thirty. It should be enough time to finish up with breakfast and get ready, without leaving a lot of time for panicking.

Quinn should know better.

Beth picks up on it easily. Even while they're eating the best pancakes in all of existence, she can tell that Quinn is on edge. Rachel isn't much better, and Beth wonders how she's supposed to remain calm when the two adults are seconds from losing it.

Quinn insists on doing the dishes, and both Rachel and Beth let her. Rachel disappears into their room, and Beth goes to get ready as well. She brought only one spare outfit, so she's definitely grateful that Rachel threw her clothes into the wash the night before.

Granted, she could probably wear her jeans for a full week and they would still be okay, surely. But, she doesn't have to.

She takes her time, dragging along, until she hears Quinn gasp out a loud "Rachel!"

Rachel responds a moment later. "What's wrong?"

Beth moves towards the door to hear them better.

"I forgot to cancel brunch," Quinn says.

Rachel laughs. "I took care of it yesterday, baby."

"Oh."

"Did you call into work?" Rachel asks her.

"It was just a research day," Quinn says. "Let them think I'm working from home."

"What a rebel," Rachel teases, and Beth finds herself smiling to herself. "_I_ won't have to cancel, will I?"

"Of course not," Quinn says. "Your adoring public awaits you. We shall not deny them the opportunity to witness the glorious talent that is Rachel Berry-Fabray take to the stage."

"You're very dramatic."

"Wow, Pot, I'm Kettle."

"Exhibit A."

Quinn hums softly. "I would ask you to marry me, if I hadn't already," she says.

"We could always renew our vows," Rachel says, diplomatically. "Beth could be there."

"Wow, okay, don't start putting all these ideas in my head," Quinn says. "This whole thing could all just fall to shit."

"Do you think Shelby would really keep you apart again?"

"I don't know," Quinn says, and Beth feels it in her bones. "I want to say I know what she would do, but she's full of surprises."

Rachel scoffs. "You can say that again."

Quinn just sighs, and Beth peeks through the slit in the open door to see them hugging tightly. As far as Beth knows, she hasn't come across a couple quite like them.

Nobody her age would have this level of intimacy. Her mom hasn't dated for any significant period of time. Kyle's parents are divorced, and he doesn't get along with his stepmother. Carson's parents are barely around for Beth to get any kind of read on them.

People fall in and out of love so often on television as well, and it amazes her to see this kind of everlasting type right before her eyes. It's all she can wish for herself. Some day. In the far future.

"It's going to be okay, right?" Quinn asks in a small voice.

"Of course," Rachel immediately says, and even Beth believes her.

* * *

Beth, admittedly, isn't sure what to expect when Shelby arrives, but it's not for her to be with her Uncle Peter. Beth reacts to the sight of him immediately, running across the room and throwing herself into his arms, squeezing him as tightly as possible.

"Hey, Kiddo," he laughs, ruffling her hair. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she tells him, and she means it. He lives in Boston now, and she doesn't get to see him as often as she used to when he used to live in Chicago.

Beth's distracted enough that she misses the silent standoff between Shelby and Rachel, and then between Shelby and Quinn. It's been almost twelve years since they've seen each other, and both girls are so grown up now.

Beth eventually catches onto the silence and steps out of her uncle's embrace. She frowns at them, trying to figure out all the dynamics.

It's Rachel who clears her throat and speaks. "Come inside," she says, casually waving a hand to get them to close the front door.

Peter does it, gently, and then smiles at Beth. "Introduce me," he says.

Beth beams at him. "Quinn, Rachel, this is my uncle," she says. "His name is Peter Corcoran, and he lives in Boston."

Quinn waves an awkward hand, and Rachel politely says, "Nice to meet you."

Peter looks at her a little too long, very clearly seeing pieces of his sister in her. He's never been entirely on board with Shelby's decisions surrounding her biological daughter, but his advice has always fallen on deaf ears.

"You too," Peter says, and, God, he means it. He means it so spectacularly.

Rachel stares at him for a moment, and then moves backwards. "We should sit," she says.

It's not lost on all of them that Beth has barely looked at Shelby.

Quinn and Rachel sit together on the couch, and Beth moves to sit with them, while Shelby and Peter commandeer the two armchairs. The hostess in Rachel wants to offer something to drink, but she just can't.

Quinn takes hold of Rachel's hand in her lap, just needing the contact. She's aware of Shelby watching them, and she hates that this woman has come into their lives this way.

Peter, thankfully, takes it upon himself to break the silence. "So, B," he says. "Heard you ran away from home, huh?"

Beth lifts her chin. "Is that what she told you?" she asks. "Because, you know she's a liar."

"Beth," Shelby says.

"What?" Beth asks, her voice sharp. "It's true."

And, frankly, Shelby can't deny it, because it _is_ true.

Beth looks at Peter, suddenly having a thought. "You knew," she states. "This whole time, you knew."

Peter sighs. "I did, yes."

Beth clenches her fists, tightening her jaw. "Were you going to keep helping her lie to me?"

"Maybe," he admits. "Whatever she wanted."

Shelby shifts uncomfortably.

Beth glares at them, and then leans back, trying to stay calm. She unconsciously shifts towards Quinn, their arms pressing together.

Peter looks between them, pairs of mothers and daughters existing with chasms between them. It's profoundly sad, and he wishes they were anywhere else but here. It's so awkward and tension-filled

Peter clears his throat. "You have a lovely home," he says.

Rachel blinks. "Oh, uh, thank you," she says. "We like it here."

"I've always liked New York," he says. "I went to Columbia, so I spent years trying to get used to its speed, but I don't think I quite succeeded."

Quinn perks up slightly, but says nothing.

Rachel explains for her. "That's Quinn's alma mater," she says.

Peter smiles at the blonde woman, trying to let his charm show. He has to admit he's curious about her, and he wouldn't ever begrudge Beth wanting to know her. "Did you enjoy it?" he asks.

Quinn hesitates. "I did," she says. "It was Grad school, so I think my experience was probably different to the average undergraduate student."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "Only you would call anything about Columbia average," she quips.

Quinn manages a smile at her, and then looks at Peter. "What did you study?"

"Law," he says.

Quinn's expression flickers, but she nods. "My best friend attended Columbia's School of Law, and she complained every second of it."

"Sounds about right," he says. "What about you?"

"Creative Writing," she answers. "Literature. English. I mainly teach the Classics, though."

Peter's head snaps up. "Yeah? At Columbia?"

Quinn nods. There's more she could say, of course. She's well-known in her field, a mind to watch in the literary world. She's successful in ways she's never been one to flaunt.

She's not about to start.

"She writes books," Beth suddenly says. "And Rachel sings on Broadway."

Peter looks a little pained then, his gaze drifting to Rachel. This woman, who is biologically his family, is such a stranger. "Anything I've heard of?"

Rachel's eyes flick to Shelby for a moment before she speaks. "My debut was _Spring Awakening_," she says, almost sounding embarrassed. "I've done _Les Mis_, _Jane Austen Sings!_, and I've been Andy in _The Devil Wears Prada_ for almost eighteen months now."

Peter nods, impressed. "I'll admit I don't know much about Broadway, but that all sounds amazing."

"She is," Quinn says, almost automatic. She flushes moments later, and Beth rolls her eyes. They're like teenagers, sometimes.

Peter's curiosity gets the better of him, and he just knows his sister is dying to know, so he braves asking the question. "Uh, so you two live together?"

Rachel seems to take pity on him. "We do, yes," she says. "It's somewhat expected of married couples, but I could be mistaken."

And, that's what gets a sound out of Shelby. She practically squeaks in surprise. "You're married?"

Rachel shoots her a look, her features hardening. "We are," she says. "Coming on four years now."

Shelby's mouth opens and closes, but she says nothing. What can she say, anyway?

"You seem surprised, Shelby," Quinn says, almost a drawl. "Didn't think a no-good delinquent like me would find love and happiness, huh?"

Peter thinks he can see the type of person in her of whom to be afraid. There's an undercurrent of something very specific in her tone that's almost cutting. It's a little terrifying, if he's being honest, but he does catch the way Rachel squeezes her hand, and he has to stop himself from smiling at the way she immediately relaxes.

Shelby, wisely, doesn't respond.

Peter clears his throat. "Beth, why are we here?" he asks, thinking it's best to get to the crux of this entire visit. They're still being relatively civil, but even he doesn't know how to feel about this marriage that's just been revealed. He suspects they've already gone through the struggle of whom they are to each other beyond the fact they're a couple.

He almost feels sorry for them. But he also admires them, a little. A lot.

Beth sits straighter. "I just wanted to know about her," she tells Peter; "but Mom wouldn't tell me anything." Her face twists into a scowl. "She told me Quinn never even wanted me, and that Quinn was probably dead somewhere."

The silence that follows is deadly.

Beth looks accusingly at Shelby. "You said she was nobody," she says. "That you never even met her, but that's a lie! You knew her, and she knew me, and then you took me away from her."

Shelby moves then, shifting to the edge of her seat. "Sweetheart, you obviously haven't heard the entire story," she says. "I have my reasons."

"You lied to me," Beth says again.

"I had no choice," Shelby tries.

"Yes, you did," Beth argues. "You told me I always have a choice, so then you did, too," she says. "She made a mistake. She told me she tried to make it seem like you're a bad mom, but she came to her senses, but you still took me away."

Shelby blinks, so caught off guard. "What?"

Beth pauses. "Isn't that why you stopped all contact?" she asks, looking a little confused. She turns to Quinn, whose eyes are on Shelby.

Shelby breathes out. "Oh."

Beth's frown deepens. "Mom?"

Shelby can't bring herself to say anything, because the last thing she expected was for them _not_ to tell the complete truth. That, in some cosmic way, Quinn succeeded without even having to try. They haven't told Beth about what happened with Noah, which would paint her even more poorly in her daughter's eyes.

Not that this is any better.

She could spin this in her favour, she knows. Beth may or may not believe her, but she could take the chance and see what happens. Or, she could just...

She's not sure what to do.

"Shelby," Peter prompts.

She shakes her head, trying to clear it. "You ran away from home," are the words she ends up saying.

"Well, yeah," Beth says. "That was a choice I made, since I'm so good at making them."

Shelby sighs. "You scared me."

"I didn't think you'd care."

"Beth," she says, sounding exhausted. "You don't honestly believe I'm happy about any of this, do you?"

"Were you ever even going to tell me I'm adopted?"

Here, Shelby pauses. "I - I don't know," she finally says, avoiding both Quinn and Rachel's gazes. "In the beginning, I had every intention of doing so. Your biological parents were supposed to know you, and you would get to know them, but - " she stops, unsure how to continue.

There's only silence, all of them waiting. Peter knows the story and, while he reasons his sister made a mistake, the aftermath of sleeping with one of her students has been something she's never handled all that well. Shelby thrives on reputation, and hers was destroyed in seconds, and for Noah Puckerman of all people.

Shelby clears her throat. "But, then, some things happened, and we had to leave," she says. "If you never knew the truth about your adoption, then I wouldn't ever have to deal with this moment right now. If you believed you were mine, alone, then I wouldn't run the risk of losing you."

"Well, that hasn't seemed to have worked out for you, has it?" Beth snarks.

"Beth," Peter says.

She shoots a glare at him, hurt flashing in her eyes, but she doesn't address him.

There's another silence that seems to drag on and on. Nobody really knows what to say, anyway. And, even if they did, would they be brave enough?

Quinn just keeps Rachel's hand clasped in her own, wondering what it is about this particular week in her life that has led her to this moment. Is it because she bought Homeless Dave that sugeroverloaded drink he's been nagging her about for days? Is it because she cut her students some slack on their deadlines? It could be anything, really, but she's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I want to spend the rest of the summer with Quinn."

And... okay, what?

All eyes turn to Beth, and it's Peter who manages to recover first. "Beth, you know you can't just make decisions like that."

"Why not?" Beth asks, ever so stubborn. "Quinn wants me. She's always wanted me." She glares at Shelby. "But, you, of course, already knew that, didn't you?"

Shelby looks stumped. It's an expression that hasn't disappeared from her features, and it's starting to look permanent.

"Beth," Peter tries again. "That isn't some kind of demand you can just make."

"Then we'll come to a compromise," Beth says, folding her arms across her chest and resisting the urge to lean into Quinn's side. That would be cruel, and even she knows that. "It's just a few weeks," Beth adds, because the adults all look caught between what is real and what is not. "I think it'll do us all some good."

At this, Shelby looks accusingly at Quinn. "Let me guess; you're the one putting all these silly ideas in her head."

"They're not silly," is the first thing Quinn says directly to Shelby. "And, I can assure you she's made this decision all on her own." She sighs, suddenly unsure, as she turns her head to look into Beth's hazel brown eyes. So gorgeous. "Beth, Sweetheart, we've already talked about this."

Shelby visibly bristles. "Don't call her that," she snaps.

Four pairs of eyes give her a withering look, but Shelby's gaze is firmly on Quinn.

Beth looks from Quinn to Shelby, and then back to Quinn. There's far too much there, and she gets the feeling it isn't all just to do with her. Rachel is involved, definitely. And this Noah Puckerman.

Beth has so many questions, but she knows this probably isn't the time to be asking them.

When, though?

Beth breathes deeply. "Do you not want me to stay?" she asks Quinn.

Quinn sighs, and her face twists into something deeply pained. "We've already talked about this," she repeats. "We're not making demands, remember? We're trying to establish something new here, that can work for all of us, and you're going about it in a way that won't get anyone what they want, least of all you."

Beth takes a moment, meets Rachel's gaze over Quinn's shoulder, and just knows she's going about this all wrong. Rachel warned her; almost pleaded with her, really. Quinn would give her the world if she could, and Beth might just be a selfish enough little shit to take it.

Only, she's really not.

At least, she likes to think she isn't.

"Then, what do we do?" Beth asks, her eyes on Quinn.

"You talk to your mother," Quinn says. "Just, talk. I know it's hard. I struggle talking to mine every day, but talking has always been the only thing that helps."

Rachel nods in agreement. "I can talk Judy's ear right off, if she isn't careful."

"I've seen it happen," Quinn immediately says, this cheeky little grin on her face. "Judy made the mistake of calling about wedding plans, and I swear she's regretted it to this day."

Rachel lets out a tiny giggle, burying her face in Quinn's shoulder. "I'm a planner," she weakly defends.

Quinn rolls her eyes. Still, she says, "She's a total planner."

Beth loves them. She really does. She barely knows them, but it's a little impossible not to be so enamoured with them. They love each other so much, and it's a fight not to be sucked into that bubble of emotions and feelings. Beth isn't even resisting.

Peter watches it all in silence, completely fascinated. He didn't expect for Quinn and Beth to be alike in many ways, but he can see it now. It's something in their ability to _feel_, with ever part of themselves, always and for forever.

Beth sighs, eventually resigning herself to taking Quinn's advice. She turns to Shelby and just stares. Her anger is her dominant feeling, but she's also hurt and confused and just generally scared of what else her mother has been hiding about her supposed identity.

"I hate that you lied to me," Beth finally says. "It changes things about me; about how I see myself. Before, I knew exactly who I was: Beth Corcoran, only daughter of Shelby Corcoran, but now I'm more than that, and I hate that you ever considered trying to keep parts of who I am from me."

Shelby's eyes flicker towards Rachel when Beth says 'only daughter,' and she wishes she didn't catch the flinch.

Beth, thankfully, misses it all. "I know maybe you thought you were trying to protect me, but I deserved to know about Quinn, regardless of what happened when I was a baby. That has nothing to do with me."

It's where she's wrong, of course, because everything has had everything to do with her from the very beginning. Quinn's entire life got turned upside down and inside out for Beth, and she would do it again. There are parts she would change, obviously, but she's never once regretted giving her baby life or the consequences that came with that.

"I want to be able to know her," Beth finally declares. "You - you can't keep her from me anymore. I'll never forgive you for it, so please just don't try. She's good. Look at her. She's the one who's been encouraging me to call you. She's never even tried to claim me. She said the only person I belong to is myself." She hums. "At least until I find someone to love as much as she loves Rachel."

"Impossible," Quinn murmurs, mostly under her breath.

Rachel still hears her, and Quinn receives a helpless kiss to her cheek, making her smile like the lovestruck teenager she's been ever since she realised she was besotted with this tiny hurricane of a human being.

Shelby still looks a little stumped, and she gazes between Quinn and Rachel as if that'll magically give her the answers.

Obviously, it doesn't.

"I don't understand," Shelby eventually says. "Why - why wouldn't you tell her what really happened with Noah?"

Quinn's features darken, and she drops her gaze.

Rachel sighs. "No daughter should hear that kind of thing from anyone other than her mother," she says. "At least someone should be saved the courtesy of that particular horror."

Shelby flinches at the description.

Beth frowns. "What are you talking about?" she asks. And then very purposefully states, "We don't talk about him, Mom," to Shelby; "He upsets Quinn."

Quinn, feeling her heart want to burst with such affection and love, rests a hand on Beth's back, trying to convey the deep emotion roiling through her. "It's okay," she manages to say. "Perhaps today is just going to be filled with difficult truths."

It sounds ominous, as if there's much more to come, but Beth is willing to see it all out if they are.

So, Shelby does the thing and reveals that she did, in fact, sleep with Noah Puckerman. Beth is so horrified, she doesn't even know what to say. Quinn goes on to explain how she planned to tell the administration about it, but Rachel convinced her not to, which seems to be news to Shelby, if her wider eyes are anything to go by, but the faculty still ended up finding out, and the great big world fell to shit.

"Quinn," Rachel admonishes the curse word.

Quinn shrugs. "Seriously, though, it kind of did," she says. "You and Finn went crazy with teenage hormones. I almost killed Noah. I almost died, period. New Directions actually won Nationals. You can't tell me the Universe kind of did some kind of one-eighty."

"Shut up."

Quinn does.

It takes Beth another minute to force out, "You slept with my biological father?"

Shelby nods, morose.

Beth continues to stare. "It had nothing to do with Quinn?"

Shelby blinks. "Not directly."

Beth nods. "Also, Mom, that's gross. He was like half your age. And your student. And related to me. Eugh."

It's such a teenager response that the adults would find it amusing if the situation weren't so serious.

There's more silence as Beth wraps her head around this truth. There's a lot to digest, and she thinks she's risking it when she asks Quinn, "What happened with him?"

Here, Quinn looks away, unable to face seeing Beth, who looks so much like Noah in this moment. "I won't really go into the details of our complicated history, but he's the reason they even found out about him and Shelby." Her fists clench in her lap. "After Rachel convinced me it would do more harm than good to reveal the truth, I vowed not to tell anyone, but Shelby was so... torn up about it, I guess, and she knew I knew. So, Puck confronted me about it, in a crowded school corridor, told me to stay away from 'his family.' To stay away from Shelby, and to stay away from you." She shudders at the memory. "Students heard. They put it two and two together, and someone reported them to the office. Days later, you were both gone, and my relationship with him hasn't been the same since."

Beth feels a bit sick, and she forces herself not to look at her mother. This _has_ been a day of difficult truths.

And, she's about to face another one when she very perceptively asks Rachel, "Why did you want to protect my mom?"

Rachel looks caught for a moment, before she very carefully says, "I think I wanted to protect you and Quinn more." She suddenly looks exhausted. "I'm sure you've picked up that, while Quinn has her own issues with Shelby, I do too."

Beth nods, having gathered so much.

"Remember how I said I don't have a mother?" Rachel says, and Shelby's flinch is unmistakable. "Well, biologically, I suppose I kind of have to, huh?" She does this kind of half-shrug, and then leans further into Quinn. "I suppose Quinn's been more right than she thinks when she says some daughters are luckier than others."

It takes Beth longer than she'll care to admit to put the pieces together but, when it clicks, she feels an entire myriad of emotions that threaten to overwhelm her.

She's horrified for a moment, because _wait, what_? Rachel is Shelby's daughter. Rachel came from Shelby. Rachel's adopted. Beth's confusion triples because _seriously what_? Rachel is like her sister or something. But Quinn is her mother. And they're married. And Shelby slept with Noah. But so did Quinn. Like, what the hell?

Beth feels guilty at some point because, from what she's gathered, Shelby had to have rejected Rachel... and then somehow ended up with her classmate's baby instead.

Wow.

Low blow, Mom.

Beth drops her gaze to her hands, struggling to make sense of everything. She feels Quinn shift beside her, and it takes her a moment to realise it's away from her, because Rachel has actually crawled over the blonde to take the place beside Beth.

"Hey," Rachel says, her voice low, indicating it's just for Beth, even though everyone can still hear her. "Look at me."

Beth does.

"I'm okay," Rachel says. "I promise."

At first, Beth is stumped as to how Rachel could even know she feels something like guilt, and it must show on her face.

"You're a lot more like Quinn than you'll ever know," Rachel softly explains. "You can't help thinking everything is your fault."

"I took your mom."

Rachel shakes her head. "Oh, Beth," she murmurs, a gentle hand running over blonde hair. "You've taken nothing from me, okay?" She looks away for a moment. "She was never mine, anyway, okay?"

Beth blinks, hurting for her.

Rachel sighs. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that I was hurt when I found out about you, especially after Shelby told me she didn't want to be much of anything to me." She doesn't acknowledge Shelby at all when she says the words. "It was... jarring, realising I was never what she wanted, and it took me a while to accept that you were. I've always loved that Quinn's baby girl found herself a good, loving home, with someone who _wanted_ her, and I need you to believe that."

Beth thinks she could, one day. There's still a lot they need to talk about, though. Something more happened their senior year of high school, and Beth thinks they're all going to have to unpack it properly if they're going to have any chance of moving forward the way she intends.

Maybe not today.

"Okay," Beth finally says. "Okay."

Rachel smiles at her, half in relief and the other in slight wonder. It's a look she and Quinn share.

Quinn wraps an arm around Rachel's shoulders, and the brunette sinks into her side, leaning on her in all forms of the word. The silence that follows is long and heavy, and it's Peter who eventually breaks it.

"Rachel," he says, and the brunette looks at him, her eyes a little tired. "Hi."

Rachel blinks. "Hi," she returns, somewhat uncertainly.

"God, it is so good to meet you."

Rachel merely stares at him, looking suitably stumped. "I - I had no idea you even existed."

Peter shrugs. "Well, now you do," he says. "I would like to know you, if you're willing," he offers a moment later. "Despite what my sister says."

Rachel has been speechless a total of three times in her life - all in conjunction with Quinn - and this is the fourth time.

It's Quinn who eventually answers for her. "I think she'd like that, Peter."

Peter smiles, mostly in relief. He's fully aware of Shelby staring at him accusingly, but he's choosing not to acknowledge her in this moment. This entire situation has surpassed her in many ways, and he won't begrudge Rachel or Quinn wanting nothing to do with her.

He's taking his chance, the same way Beth is. Maybe they can do this, even if it's thirty years later. Peter knows he's not getting any younger, and he doesn't want to miss out on any more of his niece's life.

There's more silence, which Beth breaks, this time. She does it by addressing Quinn, her tone soft. "Can I visit?" she asks. "Like, for days at a time, maybe? It doesn't even have to be this summer or anything. I just - I just want to get to know you. If you want that, too, of course."

Quinn rests a hand on Beth's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I'd really like that," she says, sounding emotional. "But, only if your mother agrees."

Beth looks as if she wants to argue, but she eventually just sighs, accepting the condition. Reluctantly, she looks to Shelby, her eyes harder than she initially intends. "Mom," she starts, and it sounds as if it pains her to ask the question. "Will you let me visit Quinn and Rachel?"

All eyes turn towards Shelby, all of them just waiting; practically daring her to deny them this opportunity. It's possibly her biggest nightmare coming true, but she's going to need to be stronger than she's ever been to let her daughter go, even a little bit.

This is the moment, she thinks. This is the moment she knows she can start to make up for all her past mistakes. They're giving her this opportunity, too. Like Peter and Beth, she can't let this pass her by, even if it never works out in her perceived favour.

She _can't_, so she won't.

What she does end up saying is, "We'll probably have to discuss it a lot more, but I suppose we could make it work."

It takes a moment for Beth to register Shelby has actually agreed, and, when she does, she does a little, happy dance in her seat. "Awesome," she says. "That's just so totally awesome." She looks at Quinn. "When?"

Quinn lets out a soft laugh. "I don't know," she says diplomatically. "We'll have to talk about it."

Rachel softly nudges Quinn's side, and the two of them exchange a look. It goes on for a long moment, before Quinn nods and very carefully gets to her feet. She moves to sit on the coffee table opposite Beth, her facial expression deadly serious.

"If we're going to do this," Quinn says; "there's something you're going to need to know."

Beth holds her breath, not sure what to expect. Based on what she's learned from her time with them, there doesn't seem to be anything glaringly obvious they've been trying to hide.

Quinn smiles a little wistfully. "I don't know how this news will affect you, because I can only base it on my own knowledge and experiences, but you have to understand that it's taken me a very long time to get to this point in my life." She drops her gaze. "I didn't think I would ever see you again," she says. "It's something I've dreamed of for years, of course, but there was a part of me that allowed myself to accept that it might never happen. I've - I've built this life for myself here, with this gorgeous woman and my friends and career, and, while I've been thinking about you every day, I - " she stops, suddenly unsure.

Rachel rests a hand on Quinn's knee, squeezing gently. "Beth, we haven't told anyone this yet, but we think it's important that you know."

Beth just nods, waiting.

"I'm pregnant," Rachel says, and then she smiles as if she can't help it. "We were planning on telling our friends at brunch this morning."

Oh.

Beth blinks, trying to recall how she could have missed it.

Oh.

"Beth?" Quinn murmurs, her voice small. She looks so worried; so much that she's somehow done something wrong, and Beth doesn't want that for her.

So, Beth smiles. She kind of has to, because she just knows this unborn baby is going to be the luckiest in the world. To be loved by this love; it has to be true.

Quinn seems to relax rather visibly.

Rachel keeps her gaze on Beth, feeling as if there are still words she needs to say. "This wasn't an easy decision for her," she says, barely audible. "I've been nagging her about starting our family since before we were even married, so you should know how much she's struggled with building a family that probably wouldn't have included you."

Beth can only imagine what any of this has been like for Quinn. She's had only months of knowing Quinn was somewhere out there and she didn't know where, and that was torture. Quinn has gone _years_.

Beth's smile grows when she looks at Quinn. "You're going to be a mom," she says, her own voice filled with wonder.

Quinn still looks a little uncertain. "You're not mad?"

Beth immediately shakes her head. She's definitely not mad, though she thinks she understands Rachel a bit more. It's different, though, because she doesn't think her own mother ever agonised over what Rachel would think of her having another child the way Quinn has.

Beth doesn't want to think too hard about what it says about Shelby.

They're going to be in therapy for years.

At least she'll get to know Quinn. And Rachel.

Her family.

Whoa.

Beth smiles again, a little wider. "I'm kind of confused as to whether this'll make me an aunt or a sister."

Rachel lets out an unexpected laugh, just as Quinn groans.

"Oh, my God," Peter says, almost doubling over with his own laughter. He sobers quite quickly, though, and says, "Congratulations to you both."

Rachel smiles at him, unable to stop herself. She's been dying to tell anyone and everyone since they found out, but Quinn convinced her it was safest to wait until they made it safely through the first trimester. Her wife, always so cautious. "Do you have kids?" she asks.

Peter's smile falters. "Oh, uh, no, I don't," he says, blinking a few times. It's common knowledge around Shelby and Beth, and he's wanting Rachel to know him, so he says, "We lost our son to a rare form of cancer a long time ago." The room grows very still. "Unfortunately, my wife and I couldn't survive the loss." It's the reason he moved to Boston in the first place, needing to get away from all the things that reminded him so much of the family he was forced to watch helplessly slip through his fingers.

"Oh," Rachel says, and she looks so deeply sympathetic that he kind of wants to hug her. "I'm sorry."

Peter just nods, accepting. His news tends to turn people awkward, but Rachel and Quinn seem to sense his need to push through it.

Quinn ruffles Beth's hair. "You can be whatever you want to be, Kid," she murmurs. "Aunt, sister, friend, whatever. Something tells me we're all going to have a lot of explaining to do for the rest of our lives, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Whoa," Beth says. "It's going to be so trippy for your kid when it comes to that family tree."

Rachel winces. "Well, we're trying not to think too hard about it."

"Please," Quinn says. "Let's not right now, thank you."

Beth giggles, and Rachel just smiles at Quinn.

Eventually, Quinn gets to her feet, absently stretching her arms in the air. She shakes out her hands, and then turns to Peter and Shelby. "Tea anyone?" she asks. "Our friends haven't really noticed yet, but we've both stopped drinking, so I can't really offer much else."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "It's just barely noon, Quinn," she says.

"It's five o'clock somewhere, Rach."

"I'll have some coffee," Peter says.

Quinn winces. "Did I not mention we're abstaining from caffeine as well?"

Peter laughs softly. "Kelly and I tried that," he says. "We almost killed each other."

"Makes every day exciting," Quinn quips with a shrug. "I think we're getting used to it."

"Speak for yourself," Rachel grumbles.

Quinn immediately bends to kiss the top of her head, smiling when Rachel leans into her touch and smiles dopily. Beth smiles at them because she can't help it. They're so cute; it's totally gross.

Quinn turns back to Peter. "We have more than tea, obviously." And then she proceeds to list the entire contents of their fridge. Eventually, she manages to get everyone's orders - including a subdued Shelby - and then disappears into the kitchen.

The break in conversation gives everyone a bit of a breather.

Beth leans back against the couch, her arm resting on Rachel's. It's been so easy with them, she can barely believe it. She knows it has a lot to do with whom they are as people, because it would have been very different if either of them was someone else.

If either of them was _with_ someone else.

She's known them for barely a full day, and she already can't imagine Quinn with anyone other than Rachel, or vice versa. Who could ever think they could come between these two? They never stood a chance.

Rachel's phone starts to ring, startling them all. "Whoops," she says, getting to her feet. "I was sure I switched that off." She heads towards the dining room table to retrieve the offending device, checking the Caller ID. She practically jumps at the sight of her director's name, absently panicking that she's somehow missed her call time.

She hasn't, of course, but she still sounds a little breathless when she answers, "Henry, hi, is everything okay?"

"It's a disaster, Rachel."

She rolls her eyes, because he's honestly more of a drama queen than she is. "What's happened?"

"Serena's gone and sprained her ankle," he says. "She won't admit to what she was doing, but she won't be able to go on tonight."

Rachel makes a note to message Serena after this call, just to check how she's doing. Especially if Henry is on her case about it. "What's the plan, then?"

Henry clears his throat. "Well, Rachel, we have two options," he says. "We can switch Serena out for Jenny, and then get Sarah or Rebecca from the chorus to take Jenny's place."

Rachel winces, because, while that is the designed plan to deal with this kind of thing, it doesn't always work out well.

They've learned.

"And the second option?" Rachel asks, suddenly already knowing the answer.

"_Rachel_," Henry says, sounding a little exasperated.

Rachel sighs, defeated. "I'll ask her."

Henry practically whoops. "Okay, let me know what she says."

Rachel hurries through a farewell, hangs up, shoots off a text to Serena, and then goes to find Quinn.

In the kitchen, Rachel sees a tray already set out and ready to go on the island, and Quinn with her head buried in the fridge.

Rachel just watches her for a moment, and then says, "Baby, what are you doing?"

Quinn's head snaps back, almost clicking, and she smiles innocently. "Oh, you know, I was just trying to waste as much time as I possibly could in here."

Rachel shakes her head, fondness in her expression. "I love you," she says, closing the distance between them as Quinn closes the fridge door. She wastes very little time wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck and hugging her closely. Tightly.

It's been a long morning.

Quinn holds her immediately, arms wrapping around her slim waist. She instantly relaxes at the familiarity, her heart slowing and breathing steadying. She presses her lips to Rachel's hair and inhales deeply, settling even further. "I love you, too," is her automatic response.

"How are you doing?" Rachel asks.

"I'm fine," Quinn says. "What about you?"

"Would you like me to lie to you, too?"

Quinn chuckles. "Sure, baby."

Rachel pulls back slightly to be able to look into Quinn's gorgeous eyes. "In all my life, I never thought Shelby would know about our first pregnancy before my parents."

Quinn winces. "Definitely don't mention that when we're down there."

Rachel nods once, silently agreeing. And, then, because they talk about things, she says, "Beth knows."

"She knows," Quinn echoes. "Me thinks we're all going to be in therapy for years and years to get through all of this."

That's nothing new to Rachel. She's been in therapy since she was in high school, and she insists that she and Quinn see a couples' therapist every few weeks, just to make sure they're communicating effectively. They've come from such a volatile history, and Rachel is determined never to go back there.

Rachel gently kisses her cheek. "I think everything is going to work itself out."

Quinn just hums, and then leans in to kiss her wife, seeking this simple form of comfort. Rachel sighs into the kiss, her arms tightening around Quinn's neck.

They've never really struggled with this part of their relationship. Physical intimacy is easy for them, especially after all the years they've been together.

Quinn is moments from deepening the kiss when a voice suddenly calls out, "Told you they'd be kissing," and the couple breaks apart, both of them flushing at Beth's observation.

"Hush, you," Quinn says to Beth, squeezing Rachel once and then releasing her. "Make yourself useful and take the tray to the living room."

Beth grins, saluting playfully. "Yes, ma'am."

Rachel just giggles as they watch Beth go, and she feels something warm spread through her body. She'll be the first to admit that Quinn wasn't the only one who was apprehensive about growing their family. As much as she's nagged Quinn over the years, there's always been a part of her that's terrified of actually _being_ a mother.

She doesn't exactly have many great models to take after. Shelby, no. Judy, hell no. Perhaps Carole Hudson-Hummel.

But, now, here with Beth, she thinks they can do it.

_She_ can.

Quinn, too.

She wants this - all of this - and she doesn't think she could have picked a better partner to face the great big world alongside.

"Hey," Quinn says, interrupting her musings. "What's going on in that beautiful, big brain of yours?"

Rachel smiles lazily at her. "I'm thinking about you," she admits.

"That's a given," Quinn says with a cheeky smile. "But what else is on your mind?"

She steps into Quinn's space. "Well, Henry called," she says. "So, I'm thinking about that."

"What did he want?"

Rachel presses her lips together for a moment. "You."

Quinn frowns for a beat, and then shakes her head. "Baby, no," she says. "I can't."

"But, Quinn," Rachel says, almost whining. "We could be on stage together. You know how much I love being on stage with you."

Quinn gives her an incredulous look. "Just say what you really want to say, Rachel," she says.

Rachel flushes instantly, red spreading right down her neck. "Quinn," she murmurs.

"I'm listening."

"Quinn, there are people just in the other room," she points out, lowering the volume of her voice.

Quinn does the same. "They know we've been married for years, Rach," she says; "I think it's given we've consummated our marriage by now."

Rachel covers Quinn's mouth with her hand, her eyes widening. "What is wrong with you?" she asks, even as she can't keep the smile entirely off her face.

"Baby," Quinn says, the sound muffled by Rachel's palm until she drops it. "Just say it."

"Quinn," she complains again.

"I'm not saying yes until you tell me why you really want me up on that stage with you," Quinn says, serious enough to fold her arms across her chest.

Rachel grumbles under her breath, and then very clearly says, "Because I'm pregnant, Quinn, which means I'm horny as hell, and it gets me hot performing on stage with you," right at the same moment Shelby walks into the kitchen.

To say the entire thing is mortifying would be a gross understatement.

Rachel groans loudly, burying her face in her hands, as Quinn laughs loudly and Shelby looks as red as a tomato, embarrassed beyond measure. Today is just a day of many things Rachel never suspected would ever happen in her life. Not only is Shelby in her kitchen, but she's now also privy to what turns Rachel on.

Quinn.

Quinn turns Rachel _very_ on.

"This is amazing," Quinn says, as she presses a kiss to Rachel's hair. From what she can see of Shelby's expression - Rachel still isn't looking at either of them - it's clear she came into the kitchen for a reason.

_Rachel_ is obviously that reason.

"Do you want me to stay?" Quinn asks softly.

Rachel puffs out a breath, and then slowly shakes her head. She can do this. If Quinn can settle things with her own mother, then Rachel can at least _talk_ to hers.

Quinn kisses the top of her head again. "I'm going to call Henry," she says; "and make sure Beth hasn't eaten all those cookies." She starts to go, but Rachel suddenly fists her shirt in her hand, holding tightly. "Hey," Quinn murmurs. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rachel says. "Just, you know, I love you."

Quinn smiles, looking momentarily lovestruck. She's the prettiest like this: unafraid to show the world just how much she's in love. "I love you, too," she says. "Now, talk to your mother."

Rachel just watches her go, resisting the urge to call her back. Instead, she turns to face Shelby, trying for a smile that must look more like a grimace. "Hi."

Shelby shifts her weight, looking awkward and out-of-place. "My daughter hates me," is the first thing she says, and it's unclear to which daughter she's referring.

Rachel raises her eyebrows. "No, she doesn't," she says, and she means it, regardless of whether it's her or Beth. If Shelby actually sees her as being some kind of relation. Rachel doesn't see how that can be, in all seriousness. Mothers don't just abandon their children, do they? Rachel can never see herself doing that. Even if she _were_ a surrogate and signed a contract to stay away until said child's eighteenth birthday, she's sure she would still find a way to keep tabs on them. Somehow. God, she would jump at the opportunity to know them.

She supposes she and Quinn are just built differently to Shelby.

"Then, maybe I'll hate myself enough for the both of us," Shelby says, her mouth twisting.

Rachel sighs, wondering if she has it in herself to attempt to reassure this woman who has hurt her in ways she's spent years dissecting in therapy. She doesn't. Like, not at all. Her sympathy for Shelby… hasn't ever existed. Not back in sophomore year when she opted against a relationship; not when she returned in senior year to mess everything up; not when she kept Beth from Quinn but not from Puck, and most decidedly not when she up and took Beth somewhere far away when the ugly truth came out.

Rachel can still see Quinn's devastation so clearly in her mind's eye. She tried to hide it, but she was in a funk for _months_ after. At one point, she even considered not going to Yale, wanting Shelby to be able to find her in case she ever came back to Lima. It took a massive intervention and Rachel guilting Quinn into wanting to be the best version of herself for when she saw Beth again to get Quinn back on track. Sometimes, Rachel feels bad about it. Other times, not so much.

Like, now.

"Do you?" Rachel suddenly asks. "Hate yourself, I mean," she clarifies. "I mean, do you even regret it? Are you sorry? Do you even care about the destruction you left behind, coming to our hometown and dangling Beth in front of Quinn, only to snatch her away?"

Shelby blinks. "Your anger is about Quinn," she observes.

Rachel almost scoffs. "God, you have no idea, do you?"

Shelby audibly swallows. "I - I want to work on… us."

Rachel wants to be petulant. She's been _fine_ without Shelby, and there's a huge part of her that doesn't want to work on anything at all. She'll happily go through her life with the knowledge they'll never be anything to each other, but she thinks that's just going to make everything that bit more awkward for Quinn and Beth and their unborn child. With a sigh, she says, "Okay," and finds she actually means it. "But, not today."

Shelby nods.

"Not any time soon, in fact," she says. "I - I need to know you're serious, because I've already been burned, and that's not something I'm willing to go through again. I already live a stressful enough life."

"I'll do whatever I need to."

Rachel almost smiles when she says, "Right now, all I want is for you to follow through, with Beth and Quinn."

Shelby's face pinches slightly, but she nods.

"Quinn is the most important person in my life… at least for the next six months." She feels the rush of that truth, and she almost wants to sing it from the rooftops. "Her happiness is my happiness, and I assume by 'working on us,' you mean that you want me to be happy."

Shelby finds herself nodding before she can stop herself. Never in her life did she think she would actually learn something from Rachel, but she thinks she gets it. She understands the love for a child - she has Beth - but she's never experienced what it's like to love and be loved by a spouse. She imagines it's different - it must be - but she'll never quite know until she has her own experience.

Not that she entertains the idea of finding that hopeless love at her age. She gave up on that a long time ago.

"Okay," Rachel says. "Okay, then."

Shelby smiles softly, her eyes darting down to where Rachel has subconsciously laid a hand over her stomach. "Congratulations, by the way," she says, and she sounds sincere. "How far along are you?"

"Just passed three months," Rachel answers. "I've been a bit of a basket case about the entire thing, but Quinn is so calm. I think her previous experience helps."

Shelby audibly swallows, as if she's trying not to remember that Quinn is the one who gave birth to Beth. "It can be a little terrifying," she ends up saying. "I remember rushing to my doctor's office the first time you kicked, thinking something was wrong."

That makes Rachel smile. "Quinn says she didn't even realise what she was feeling was the baby moving. She thought she was just bloated."

Shelby chuckles softly, thinking this isn't so difficult. This is, perhaps, something they can use to bond. "Pregnancy can be beautiful," she says. "And a little ugly. But really quite magical."

Rachel nods in agreement, feeling herself relax. "I have questions," she says. "About back then." She blinks. "Also, I guess, things about your family's medical history. My dads had some information, but I want to be prepared, and I'd rather not have any surprises."

Shelby nods. "Of course." Then: "I should probably ask for all of that from Quinn, shouldn't I?"

"I'm sure she'll be willing to hand it over," Rachel says with absolute certainty.

Shelby is about to respond when there's a sudden cheer from the living room, and the two of them exchange bemused expressions.

"We have time," Rachel assures Shelby as she starts to move, too curious for her own good. She smiles when Shelby follows behind her, and they move into the living room to find Beth practically hanging off of Quinn, both of them sporting smiles that are so similar, it's actually jarring.

Peter just looks deathly amused, from where he's still seated.

"What's going on?" Rachel asks, and Beth looks at her, eyes wide.

"We're coming to watch you perform," she almost screams.

"Inside voice, Beth," Quinn says at the same time Shelby says, "Volume, Honey," And, it's awkward for exactly three-point-seven seconds before Beth almost trips on her way towards Rachel, moving to stand right in front of her.

"Quinn says she's going to be playing Emily in the show tonight," she says. "Is that true?"

Rachel blinks. "Oh, um, yes." She glances at Quinn, who's smiling widely. "You talked to Henry?"

Quinn shrugs. "How could I deny my stunning, gorgeous wife, who is so lovingly carrying our child?" she asks, all innocence. "And, seriously, Henry is fucking dramatic; he might have started crying if I refused."

"Quinn," Rachel says with a shake of her head, but she's smiling.

Quinn's smile is irresistible, and just the thought of being on stage with her is stirring something in Rachel's belly. "So, I thought, you know, while Beth's in New York, it would be nice for her to see you perform," she says.

"With the added bonus of you," Rachel points out.

"It's like the stars are aligning or something."

"Poor Serena."

Quinn flushes slightly. "We'll send her a fruit basket or something," she says.

Rachel makes a mental note of it. "Just Beth?" she asks.

"Peter's tagging along," Quinn says. She gives Rachel a very significant look that's interpreted by everyone in the room.

Rachel almost rolls her eyes as she turns to look at Shelby. "You're welcome to come along," she says. "They're able to reserve some decent tickets for us if we request them."

Shelby hesitates. "Are you sure?"

Rachel thinks Shelby must be asking a different question - a heavier, more important question - and this simple answer is life-altering. So, she takes her time, looking from Shelby's cautious expression to Beth's hopeful one, Peter's understanding one and settling on Quinn's soft, open features.

Oh.

Rachel smiles softly. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," she says, and the air in the room eases. She can't quite explain it, but this is the first time she thinks they really all will be okay.

She's under no illusions it's not going to be a lot of hard work, but they're all here, and that means something.

It means everything.

Quinn suddenly reaches for her hand, intertwining their fingers, and Rachel _believes_ it. With all her might.

This moment, with all these people, it's enough.

More than, perhaps.

It's enough to believe.

* * *

_Fin_


End file.
